Immortals and Demons
by Bat13SJx
Summary: This is my third and final story to the Banshee Trilogy. The Immortals and demons have found out Mr. Blacks discovery on immortality. The Immortals want to destroy it before the demons get their hands on it. Banshee's unknown past is revealed, new characters are introduced, and a war between mortals, immortals, and demons is unleashed. Hope you enjoy :)
1. Chapter 1: Starting New

**I have decided to work on this story, thanks to my reviewers :) This is going to be the third and final story to the Banshee Trilogy. I would like to thank ninjadragon5 for their Road To Damnation story that inspired me for this story. I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful comments that kept me going, and all the people that read my stories. :) I apologize if my acknowedgements are a bit sappy, but, thats what I do. Anyway, hope you enjoy chapter 1 :)**

* * *

_Intro…_

_The light gave off its last few rays of golden light before disappearing behind the purple mountains of the vast Mohave desert. Atop a tall, sand formation, were two animals, gazing down at the fragile land that splayed out in front of them. They were both immortals, on a mission. One of them was a male wolf, the other was a female rabbit. They both wore pale grey cloaks, which flapped in the cool breeze. _

_The female rabbit winced at the blinding light and held up one thin arm up to shield herself from the sun. Her exposed silver armor glinted in the light. "Why are we here again, Luminite? I dont like this mortal world," said the female rabbit as she turned to her companion. The wolf, named Luminite, gazed down at the mortal world. "The mortal world isn't that bad, and you know why we are here, Brim," said Luminite. The rabbit, named Brim, rolled her eyes and looked back down at the desert landscape. _

"_This fragile, mortal world," continued Luminite, "is starting to crumble, and it is our job to fix it. The core of this nonsense is the developing town called Dirt," said Luminite. "Dirt?" asked Brim. Luminite nodded. "The known knowledge of immortality and bringing back the dead was discovered by one of the inhabitants of the place," explained Luminite. Then he turned to her. _

"_This is nothing we have ever worked with. This is something that could cause chaos to this delicate world, do you understand, Brim?" he asked. Brim just stared down at the world, her long white hair blowing around her face. "I understand," she finally said. Luminite nodded. "But there is more," he said. Brim turned to the wolf. "More? How could there be more?" she asked. Luminite pointed out beyond the horizon. "The demons of the underworld are already among us, they are already spreading across this world, if we don't act now, it will be too late," he said. _

"_Who did they send?" asked Brim. Luminite lowered his arm and thought for a moment. "They have already sent Blor, he has already found a mortal host, there are rumors that Blor is going to try to summon other demons…and what I have heard, the Underworld has already sent Rattlesnake Jake here…but there's something wrong with him," said Luminite. Brim cocked her head. _

_"What do you mean?" she asked. Luminite hesitated, Brim could've swore she saw a bit of fear in his golden eyes. "He hasn't been able to heal himself…" Luminite's voice faltered. Brim blinked. "You mean he's losing his demon powers? Does the Lord of the Underworld know of this?" she asked, somewhat hoping that the rattlesnake could finally be destroyed. Luminite just shook his head. "I don't know…but, maybe…just maybe…we could convince him to help us," said Luminite. Brim stiffened. "You're joking," she said, but she knew he wasn't. Luminite shook his head again. Brim sighed loudly. _

"_And we're the ones to fix the horrible, dirty mission," she complained looking up at the pale pink sky. Luminite shrugged. "Someone has to do it," he answered. Brim rolled her eyes. "So, what do you suggest we do first? Ask Rattlesnake Jake to help us first? Or go and say hello to the town of Dirt?" she asked. Luminite stretched his arms. "Actually, I was thinking we could make this job go a lot faster by splitting up and going to either Dirt or Rattlesnake Jake," he said. _

_Brim stretched her arms as well, "All right, I'll go to the town of Dirt, that doesn't sound too hard," she said. Luminite didn't say anything. Brim turned to Luminite, "How are you going to convince Rattlesnake Jake to work with us?" asked Brim. Luminite sighed. _

"_Let me worry about that, you need to worry about finding Mr. Black, the finder of immortality, and destroy his work before Blor gets his hands on it," said Luminite. Brim sighed and stretched her right arm. "Ok, let's get this over with," Brim said. When the two animals stopped stretching, two sets of pure, alabaster white, feathery wings ripped and tore right through their pale colored coats on their backs. The milky white wings flapped and the two creatures jumped off the ledge of the sand formation and took off toward the town of Dirt… _

* * *

_A couple of months passed in the town of Dirt, once known as Bill's City. The citizens of Dirt just fought in a bloody battle against Bill's army. No one knows who won, since it was interrupted with a surprising zombie twist. Bill and his old gang are half immortal beings (only at night) and when the moonlight touches them, they instantly turned into zombies._

_Kinski, the hunchback jackrabbit, has become a good guy and stayed in the town of Dirt. No one knows where Bill and his recent henchmen: Stump and Chorizo, have gone to, but the rebels hoped that they were gone… for go__od. _

_..._

It was night. The clouds covered the sky, hiding the moon, but no one seemed to notice as they cleaned up Main Street. Dark blood and black, rotting organs still stained the dirt road as the citizens tossed buckets of water to wash away the nasty remains of citizens, mutants, and prairie dogs. Since The War, it has been hard for everyone to sleep and forget about it. It was the most intense battle anyone has ever seen in their entire lives, in the town. I held a rag up to my nose and mouth as I swept up a couple of organs into a bucket. My face scrunched up in abhorrence.

Occasionally, some people vomited in disgust at the stench and remains. It was a terrible process, but it had to be done. The destroyed casino buildings and cat houses were burned and cleaned up as well. No one wanted anything that was once part of Bill's City. The Dark Ages was a horrible time, and will not be remembered… but can never be forgotten.

Kinski was inside the buildings of the intact Rebel street, tending to the wounded. Since he revealed that he had the ability to heal, he was pulled from room to room, healing everyone. Sometimes, after healing about fifty people, he would get exhausted and would have to sit down and rest. It took a lot of concentration and strength to be able to heal everyone.

Petunia would be at his side, listening to everyone's heartbeats. Doc would occasionally come around to see how she was doing. Doc enjoyed Petunia's enthusiasm and fascination toward working as a doctor. He would teach her how to clean the wound and wrap fresh bandages around it. Petunia was a very fast learner. Everyone enjoyed having her around and would let her listen to their hearts. Petunia loved working with the wounded. Everyone knew that she was going to become a great doctor one day.

After when the wounded were healed, they were able to get up and help the citizens with hauling the dead bodies into the wagons and sending them off to Mr. Black's workshop, where Mr. Black was working non stop. He was building countless coffins. Priscilla decided to help him with the coffins, and learned how to prepare the bodies. She learned with great interest. Mr. Black enjoyed having her as an assistant and taught her everything he knew. Ricochet would sometimes come by to see how she was doing and sometimes helped. A couple of the citizens, including me, noticed something between the two teens.

The citizens loved talking about those sweet moments (I'm guessing mostly because it was the only happy thing that they could talk about.) The citizens especially loved talking about Kinski and me. Ever since we kissed in the saloon, they just couldn't stop being fascinated with the thought that a twenty six year old bat, who doesn't remember her past, gets together with a thirty nine year old insane deformed hunchback jackrabbit. I had no idea either. Kinski just seemed to stick out to me.

...

Finally, Main Street was clean. The rest of the piled up bodies were hauled to Mr. Black's workshop. "This is the last load, Mr. Black," said Elgin as he pulled the reins that were tied to two boars. Mr. Black smiled and seemed to sigh with relief. I sighed with relief as well and walked over to where a destroyed casino once stood and sat down on a huge rock. My wings were stinging and pulsed with pain. Cleaning up the blood was the worst. Luckily, the stench was starting to lighten up a bit. I lowered the rag from my nose and mouth and rested. I lowered my head and closed my eyes.

My little nap was cut short when I heard footsteps heading toward my direction. They stopped a foot away from me. I opened my eyes and looked up. It was Kinski. He smiled a small smile and staggered a bit from where he stood in exhaustion. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked. I smiled a small weak smile and nodded. "Sure," I said, scooting over a bit. Kinski flopped down next to me and rested his head on my shoulder. He was breathing heavily. "I… healed sixty… people …tonigh'," he said panting. He was very proud of his accomplishment, but he admitted to me that he didn't really like the feeling of being near the citizens, but I told him that he'll get used to it.

I smiled and rested my head against his. "A new record, huh?" I asked. Kinski moved his head in an awkward nod. I smiled. Then he lifted his arms and wrapped them around me. I felt a small wave of heat rush through me, but then faded away. I was somewhat still getting used to the thought that Kinski and I liked each other. I have never had someone like me before. Well, maybe I have, but I don't remember. It didn't matter, I was happy where I was. I felt Kinski's twitching nose near my neck. I flinched a bit, but Kinski didn't seem to notice. He closed his eyes and rested a bit.

Just then, Petunia came bounding up to us. Her stethoscope hung around her neck. "Hi!" she said as she came up to us and sat down next to Kinski. Kinski opened his eyes and I turned my head to Petunia. "Hi Petunia," I said. Kinski lifted his head. "Hey Petunia," he said. Kinski loosened his arms around me and turned himself to Petunia. He looked down curiously at the stethoscope that hung around her neck. He poked it with his left index finger. "Vha's zat called again?" he asked. Petunia beamed, "it's a ste…setho… stether…" she tried pronouncing herself. Kinski snickered. Petunia smiled and shrugged.

"Somethin' like that, doctors use it to listen to heartbeats," she said as she lifted it up from her neck and offered it to Kinski to try out. Kinski lifted his ears up to place the ends in, then placed the long end with the small disk to his chest and listened to his own heartbeat. His winced eyes shifted around in the air, trying to listen for his heartbeat. Then his eyes widened and his mouth formed into a smile when he heard his thumping organ.

"Cool," he said. Then he swivelled around and carefully placed the disk end over my heart. I stiffened. My breathing got slow and heavy. Kinski listened for a while. He grinned, his eyes hidden behind his blond bangs. "Yer heart's beatin' fast," he observed. I felt my face heat up.

After a while of playing with it, I made Kinski give the instrument back to Petunia. Petunia placed the stethoscope back around her neck and gazed hapily at the town. "Everything is almost back the way it was before," said Petunia, smiling happily. Kinski and I exchanged glances. Almost... Petunia was so young years ago, she didn't even know how it was before Bill took over. All she knew was The Dark Ages. Kinski just smiled a small smile and patted her head. Petunia smiled and ran off.

...

After a couple minutes, everyone called it a night and decided to go eat dinner and sleep. A couple citizens and market traders either went to their own homes to go and eat dinner, or they went to where the market traders stayed and ate plates of hot beans and pieces of bread. Food was running low, but the market traders started up a system of planting seeds behind their area and starting up a big garden.

Kinski and I got up from where we sat and walked down toward the Rodent family home. The Rodent family was nice enough to allow Kinski in the family, since he saved their lives. He told me he was happy to be part of a family, and that he never had one before. I recalled back to when he told me his stories about his times in the orphanage. I would usually have to calm him down when he got a little out of control.

Kinski and I slowed down as we apporoched the two story house and walked up the porch stairs. Kinski had to duck his head in order to walk through the doorway. Everyone in the Rodent family, including me, was short. Kinski had to duck a couple times and be careful where he walked, but he didnt mind. Mrs. Rodent turned her head from the kitchen and smiled. "Hello you two, you ready for dinner?" she asked. I smiled and nodded. "Yeah," I said and sat down at the table. Kinski sat down next to me. Mrs. Rodent came over and placed two hot plates of food in front of us. Right as I was picking up my fork, Kinski already had his face covered in beans and mashed potatoes.

Mrs. Rodent called er family in. One by one, Mr. Rodent, Stub, and Petunia, came into the dining room to eat. Petunia laughed at Kinski. Kinski didn't seem to mind and began to play with his food, entertining the little girl. I grabbed a napkin and handed it to Kinski. Finally, Kinski accepted it and wiped his face.

Mrs. Rodent sat herself down and begn to eat from her plate of food. After a couple small bites, she wiped her mouth with the corner of her napkin and started up a conversation. "So, hows everythin' goin' with you two?" she asked. I looked up at her and swallowed a mouthful of beans. "What?" I asked. Mrs. Rodent repeated her question. I looked over at Kinski. He held his plate up at an angle, and was licking it clean. He stopped at mid lick and looked up at Mrs. Rodent. Kinski's eyes shifted over to me before he finished licking his plate and slowly placed the plate down. "...Ve are done cleaning ze town up...uh... I healed sixty people today," he answered. Petunia smiled a big smile and turned to her mom. "I helped out! I got to listen to peoples hearts!" she said. Mr. Rodent smiled and joined in on the conversation.

When we were all done, we all carried our plates to the sink and got ready for bed. The Rodent Family house didn't have a lot of rooms, so Kinski had to sleep on the couch in the living room. "I'm sorry you have to sleep here every night. I wish we had an extra room for you," Mrs. Rodent said as she prepared the couch for the hunchback jackrabbit. She held a lanturn in her right hand, illuminating the room. Kinski waved off her apology as he helped place the extra bed sheet on top of the couch.

"Is no big deal, I'm used to sleeping on ze couch," he said. Right when he said that, it made me kind of nervous. I assumed Kinski missed the days when he was with Bill, Stump and Chorizo;staying in the Abandoned Mines, shooting, drinking, harassing the townsfolk...when they were gunslingers...

I shook the thought out of my head when Mrs. Rodent passed by me. "Goodnight Kinski. Goodnight Banhee," said Mrs. Rodent as she left. "Goodnight," we said at the same time. She left, taking the lanturn with her. Kinski and I stood there in the darkness as our eyes gradually adjusted. I turned my head to Kinski. "Are you going to be ok here tonight?" I asked him. Kinski stared at me for a minute before turning his head to the boarded up window above the couch.

Since we found out about the gang turning into zombies, Mr. Rodent made sure no moonlight came into the house when Kinski was staying the night. Kinski lowered his head to the couch and ran his fingers across the arm rest. "Yah," he said. I nodded my head, "Ok. Goodnight Kinski," I said. I approched him. He turned his head slightly to me, and I gave him a kiss on the cheek. Kinski smiled a small smile in the darkness. I smiled back. I began to turn, when I all the sudden I felt Kinski's hand grip my wing. I was pulled back and swivled around to face Kinski. He leaned down to my height and kissed me on the mouth. It was quick, but I felt my face heat up a bit. Kinski moved his head away from mine and loosened his grip on my wing.

"Goodnigh,' Banshee," he said softly. He turned around and walked back to his couch, layed down, and went to sleep. I snapped out of my daze and made my way up the stairs to my room, being careful not to bump into anything. I opened the door to my dark room. The window was cracked open slightly to let the cool air in, but was boarded up, so I wasnt able to see the moon. I made my way to my bed, climbed into it, and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Instincts

The next morning, I woke up to a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head. Kinski was fast asleep next to me. I closed my eyes and rested my head back down on my pillow. Kinski has been coming into my room for the night for the past couple weeks. He told me how his nightmares are getting worse, but they seem to go away when he comes in to sleep next to me. Kinski shifted his head a bit and scooted closer to me. I could feel his chest aainst my back, breathing steadily. I relaxed my shoulders and went back to sleep.

...

A couple hours later, Kinski woke up, thus waking me up. We got up off the bed and walked down the stairs to the kitchen, where Mrs. Rodent had already prepared us breakfast. When we were done, we both left the house and walked outside. Some citizens waved to us as we walked by. Kinski would silently wave back. He didnt seem to fit in, in his mind. I noticed it and began to worry.

The day seemed to drag on. The town was all cleaned up, the dead were buried, the wounded were healed. Everything seemed almost normal again. Everyone went back to their usual life. It was almost as if nothing ever happened. Kinski and I walked around the town, listening to conversations or starting up some conversations with the other people. Petunia came out and Kinski let her sit on his shoulder as we walked down the street.

We stopped by Gerald's stand. Gerald was seen putting away some crates of vegetables when he saw us. He smiled, "Hello Miss Banshee. Hello Miss Petunia. hello Kinski," he said and bowed. Hi Gerald I said, stopping in front of the stand. Kinski silently waved. Petunia waved her little arm from Kinski's head. "Hi!" she said. Kinski lifted his arms and brought the little girl down from his head and onto the ground. Petunia laughed and began to run around the area known as Market Street. "How you three doing today?" asked Gerald.

"Doing fine, mostly just walking around," I said. Kinski lifted his arm out toward Petunia, trying to see if he could grab her, but the little girl ran around him. Kinski smirked and began to chase Petunia. Petunia screamed as I talked to Gerald. We both had to step to one side when Petunia ran between us, with Kinski right behind her.

"I heard rumors, Bad Bill seen somewhere," said Gerald. I narrowed my eyes a bit. "I hope its just a rumor," I said. Gerald nodded, "I hope too," he said. Suddenly, a loud sound was heard. Kinski stopped chasing Petunia. He straightened up and whipped his head aound. At lightning speed, he had his gun out of his holster. A couple market traders and citizens noticed Kinski's fast move and gasped in terror. Their eyes were wide. I quickly reacted and told Kinski to put away the gun. Kinski blinked.

"Vha-?" he asked and looked down. He noticed the gun in his hand. He lifted is head up to everyone else. Everyone on the street were staring at him. Kinski noticed the look of fear in their eyes. He gradually placed the gun bck int his holster. "Sorry. Is a old habit ," he muttered. He averted his eyes away from everyone else. I said goodbye to Gerald and we both walked down the street. Petunia followed right behind us.

...

The day grew late and the sun began to sink over the mountains, creating a beautiful sunset. The cool wind lightly teased my hair as I sat on the Rodent's family roof. I stared down at Main street below and all the people. Just then, I heard a strange noise from behind me. I turned my head. Kinski came up next to me and sat down. "_Hallo_," he said smirking and rested his head against my shoulder. I smiled a small smile, but it faded when I remembered back to the incident on Market Street.

Kinski lifted his head and looked at me. "Vhas vwrong?" he asked. I just shook my head. "Nothing," I said. Kinski narrowed his eyes a bit. "Banshee," he said. I looked over to him. He touched my shoulder. Vhat is it?" He asked. I looked down at my lap. "Do you ever miss being a gunslinger?" I asked. Kinski didnt answer. He seemed to be thinking. I looked up at him again.

Kinski stared at the symbol on my shirt for a while, before answering. He shrugged. "Sometimes...I guess...but not ze times vhen Bill, he vould yell at us.." he admitted. Then he looked up at me. "Vhy? is because I pulled my gun out, yes?" he asked in his German accent. I shook my head. "Not just that...Its just...its just you...I dont know..." I said, not knowing how to say it. Kinski placed his hand on top of my wing. "I dont mind here," he said. I stared up at his hazel eyes. He seemed to be telling the truth. I nodded, then rested my head against his shoulder. "Ok," I said. We both sat up on the roof till the sun completely disappeared, and went back inside before the moon came up.

* * *

**Apologies that this chapter is short and boring. It will get more interesting later on, I promise. Hope you are enjoying the story, and I hope you review. Thanks :) **


	3. Chapter 3: The Wedding

The next morning, Rango rounded the posse up, except for Beans, and told us to meet in his office. "What's goin on sheriff?" asked Mr. Furgus. We all agreed and started talking at once. Rango raised his right hand up and we all went silent. "Calm down everyone. I'll explain why you're all here," he said. We stared at the undead sheriff. Rango lowered his hand. He sighed nervously as he pulled out something from his dirty jeans pocket. It was a box. He opened it. Inside, laid a ring. Our eyes widened. Rango scanned over our shocked faces before staring down at the ring himself.

"I want to propose to Beans, but I'm not sure if it's the right time to ask her," said the zombie sheriff. Everyone's mouths dropped open. I placed my wings over my open mouth. "That's fantastic!" I cried happily. Rango's peeling skin turned a shade of pink. Everyone else agreed.

"You should ask her! You should ask her!" said Waffles excitedly. "Yeah, go on out there and ask her! Now's the perfect time," said Buford. Rango closed the box and stared at it. "I don't know…" he said. Just then, Beans came in. "Rango, what-" she started, she stopped in midsentence and froze in her tracks. Her brown eyes scanned over everyone in the room, then gradually fell to the zombie sheriff.

"Wh-what...whats going on?" she asked. Doc nudged Rango. Rango took a deep breath and exhaled as he took a step forward to Beans. Everyone held their breath. The zombie went down on one decaying knee and lifted the small ring box to Beans. Beans' eyes widened. Rango hesitated. "Beans...I...I..." he stuttered.

Beans blinked. Rango looked like he was shaking nervously. He turneds head to us for help. I moved my wings, gesturing for him to go on. Rango gulped nervously and turned his head back to Beans. "B-Beans?" he asked. Beans finally found her voice. "Yes?" she asked. Rango lifted the box higher to the female, tan lizards face. "I...I know th-this is a little sudden...and that we just finished cleaning up th-the t-t-town and all, but...w-will...will-" before Rango could finish, Beans threw her arms around Rango.

Rango yelped and kept his balance, but his arm fell off in the process. Beans smiled and loosened her grip on Rango. "I have been waiting for years for you to ask me," she said and kissed Rango on the cheek. Rango turned a shade of red. Beans smiled and picked up Rango's arm. Rango accepted his arm back and clicked it back on. The posse and I cheered. Rango and Beans smiled up at us.

* * *

_Later on in the day... _

When news got around about Rango and Beans getting married, everyone instantly began to help with the wedding preparations. We didn't have a lot to work with, but we did our best. Different types of chairs and loveseats were set up outside a couple feet outside of Dirt. Lanterns were strung and hung around the alter, made of a matchbox and wooden posts. Petunia, and a couple other girls, tied flowers they picked earlier, into vases and other areas that needed color.

Roon and a couple other female market traders carried out a one layered cake. The cake was decorated with pieces of fruit and drizzled in molasses. The kids followed right behind the cake, desperate for a taste. Roon shooed them away when they placed the cake on the table.

Kinski and a couple other men helped Rango get ready, while a couple female citizens and I helped Beans get ready, and got ready ourselves. I was slipped into a musty old lavender dress from an old trunk. I didnt like it, but had no choice. Mostly because it was the only sleeveless dress the female citizens could find for me. Beans was already in her white wedding dress. All the women in the town thought that she was the most beautiful thing ever. She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. She stood on a small stool as a couple female market traders fixed her dress. Beans' reflection smiled back at her.

"I never thought this day would ever come," she said out loud. Suddenly, her smile faded. I came up to her. "What's wrong, Beans?" I asked. Beans sighed. "Oh, it's nothing...I was just..." her voice faltered. I helped her down off the small stool. Beans hugged me tightly. I hugged her back. After a couple seconds, Beans let go of me. Her eyes were wet with tears. She laughed a small laugh and wiped the tears away.

"I'm sorry...I didnt know I'd get so emotional. I smiled back. "Its ok, you should be happy. You have Rango back in your life, and you are going to get married," I said. Beans smiled. "Yes. You are right. Thank you, Banshee," she said. She picked up her small bouquet of cactus flowers and smiled down at me. "I'm getting married," she said excitedly.

...

When I left Beans, I made my way back to where the wedding was being taken place. Kinski and a couple other citizens were already sitting down. I smiled when I spotted Kinski. Kinski's hair was combed back, and he was wearing a nice collared shirt. His left finger kept tugging at the collar. His eyes flickered to me. His eyes went wide and he stood up out of his chair as I walked over and sat down next to him. Kinski sat down after me.

He stared at my dress for a minute, then looked away. He ran his fingers through his hair, causing his blonde bangs to fall down over his eyes, just how he likes it. "Y-you look nice..." he finally managed to say. I blushed. "Thanks...you do too," I said. Kinski didn't say anything. We sat in silence, blushing like mad. A couple people would occasionally come up to us and talk about Beans and Rango. Kinski didnt talk, I mostly did the talking.

Finally, everyone was ready. The citizens sat down. A market trader, also a preacher, stood next to Rango, who wore a nice black suit. I could tell that it was Mr. Black's work. Standing to the right was Rango's posse. The men wore their nicest clothes and stood there awkwardly next to each other. Just then, the music began to play. Everyone instantly stood up.

Since Kinski and I have never been to a wedding before, we just did what everyone else was doing. Beans slowly, and carefully, walked down the long aisle. Petunia, Priscilla, and a couple other little girls, held Beans' long, white train, and left a trail of flowers on the ground. Rango smiled as Beans came up to him. He took a deep breath and exhaled as he removed her veil. Everyone sat down and the ceremony began.

Kinski rested his head on his hand as he watched the ceremony through his half closed, tired eyes. Bored out of his skull. I had to nudge him a couple of times to stop falling asleep or picking at the loose threads on his shirt. Kinski sighed loudly and looked down at his bare rabbit feet. He twiddled his fingers for a while. Finally, he leaned over to me. "How long is zis?" he asked. I shrugged.

"I dont know...a half an hour? depends," I guessed. Kinski groaned again, but was shushed by a couple citizens behind him. Kinski whipped his head to them and shot them a glare. The citizens flinched in fear and scooted their chairs away from him. I placed my wing in front of Kinski's face, making him turn back around. "Stop," I said. Kinski rolled his eyes and went back to being bored

...

My guess was correct. The ceremony lasted for a half an hour. Rango and Beans kissed, and everyone whooped and cheered. Kinski sighed with relief. "Finally," he said. I shot him a look but he didn't see it as he rested his head on my shoulder. I just sighed and shook my head.

Just then. everyone started to move the chairs to the outside of the sectioned area. Kinski and I moved our chairs to the outside and sat back down. A couple market traders made their way to the alter and grabbed a couple instruments and began to play. Rango and Beans smiled and instantly began dancing together in the middle of the empty section. Gradually, one by one, everyone was finding a partner to dance with. I smiled and turned my head to Kinski. Kinski just sat there and watched everyone dance. His eyes flickered when he noticed me looking up at him. His shoulders stiffened when I touched him.

"Come on, Kinski, lets go dance," I said, getting up out of my seat. Kinski stayed put. I turned back to the dancers. Everyone looked like they were having so much fun. It has been a while since I had fun. I turned back to Kinski. "Come on, Kinski, lets have some fun," I said with a smile, getting him up out of his seat. Kinski shook his head.

"No," he said. I brushed his bangs out of his left eye, but he brushed them right back over. Just then, Petunia came up to us. She smiled a huge smile and grabbed Kinski's furry hand. "Dance," she said and pulled. Kinski didn't move. Petunia pouted and pulled his arm again with all her strength.

This time, Kinski moved forward. He struggled to get out of the little girls grasp, but Petunia was too strong. Kinski hunched down even lower in embarrassment as he was pulled to the middle of the dance floor. I laughed as Petunia tried to dance with the stiff hunchback jackrabbit. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned my head and found Waffles smiling up at me.

"May I have this dance Miss Banshee?" he asked in his raspy voice. I glanced over at Kinski and Petunia. Kinski stood there awkwardly as Petunia made him sway his arms a bit. He looked like he has never been around so many people before. I smiled and turned back to the short horned lizard. "Ok," I said. Waffles and I danced to the music.

Occasionally, I was asked to dance with another person. I danced with almost every man…except Kinski, who went back to standing awkwardly alone. He stood near the food table, and would occasionally take a piece of food from one of the dishes. Finally, he eyed the champayne bottles and made a grab for them. He opened the cap and guzzled one bottle down. He licked his lips happily and tossed the bottle over his shoulder. I came up to him and stopped him before he got another bottle.

"Dont do that," I told him. Kinski narrowed his eyes at me for a minute. Finally, he grabbed two glasses and prepared them. He handed one glass of champayne to me. He guzzled the other glass down in one gulp. When he noticed I wasnt drinking, he gave me a look. "'ave you ever tried champayne before?" he asked me. I shook my head. Kinski's mouth broke into a sly smile.

"Vell, vhy dont you try it?" he asked. I looked down at the strange colored liquid. I swished it around before taking a sip. Instantly, I spat the taste out. Kinski burst out laughing at my disgusted face. I wiped my mouth and stuck my tongue out. Still laughing, Kinski took the drink from my wing. He tilted his head way back and gulped the drink down. When Kinski snapped his head back, I gave him a revolting look. "How are you able to do that?" I asked him. Kinski smirked. "Years of practice," he said.

...

After the dance, all the women started to gather toward the middle. Beans stood at the front. She had a smile on her face. All the men stood at the sides and began talking to each other. I had no idea what was going on. I asked Delilah what was going on. Delilah smiled. "Beans is going to throw the bouquet," she said excitedly. Before I could ask why, Beans turned herself around and threw the bouquet.

I watched as all the women in their light colored gowns shrieked their battle cry and made a grab for the bouquet. The men took a step back, but laughed. Couple minutes later, Petunia came out from the clustered group with the bouquet in her small hands. Everyone burst out laughing.

The group of women stopped fighting over the bouquet and laughed as well. Petunia smiled, not completely understanding what was so important about the flowers, but pressed her small nose against them and gave it a sniff.

After everyone settled down, they all went over to the food table to eat. Petunia handed her bouquet to me and ran toward the food table. I smiled and sat down. Kinski came back minutes later with a plate of food. He sat next to me and ate. He offered me some food, but I just politely shook my head. After watching Kinski eat like a wild animal, I got up and walked over to the table for napkins.

Roon smiled when she saw me come up to the table.

"Hey, Banshee, would you like a slice of cake?" she asked me. I shook my head. "No thank you, I just came over here for the napkins. Kinski is acting like a wild savage back there," I said jerking my thumb back to the chairs. Roon tilted her head and looked over at Kinski. Her eyes went back to me, but then went down when something caught her eye.

"Is that the bouquet?" she asked, a smile started to form on her face. I lifted the wilting flowers. "Oh, this is Petunia's. I'm just holding them for her," I said. Roon's smile faded away. "Oh…I thought…" her voice faltered and she gave a slice of cake to a little kid. "What?" I asked. Roon looked back up at me. She looked around, then leaned closer to me.

"I was just wondering…if you and Kinski were thinkin' of gettin' married too," she said. I felt my heart skip a beat. Waves of heat washed over me. The bouquet dropped out of my left wing. I snapped out of my state of shock when Ricochet stepped in front of me and asked for a slice of cake. He turned, noticing me.

"Hey Banshee, do you want a slice of cake too?" the grey rabbit asked me. Before I could answer, Ricochet asked for another slice of cake and handed it to me. I accepted the cake without saying anything. My eyes still wide with shock. Ricochet smiled and took a bite from his cake. "Delicious, you should try it," Ricochet said to me and left. I took a glance at the cake, then back at Roon. She was now too busy with people, lining up for seconds.

I picked up Petunia's bouquet of flowers and walked back to where Kinski sat. Kinski smiled up at me, his face covered in fruit and mashed potatoes. His eyes widened when he saw me with the slice of cake. Right when I sat down, he picked the plate up from my frozen wings.

I didn't say anything as I sat down, reflecting back to what Roon said to me. Marriage. I didn't feel ready to marry. _Kinski and I just got together. I don't even think Kinski would be ready for it either_. I slowly turned my head to Kinski, who was already gobbling down on the cake. He licked the plate a couple times and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. That's when I remembered I forgot to get napkins.

Just then, Petunia appeared in front of me. She retrieved her bouquet of flowers from my wings and admired them. "Thank you for holding them for me, Banshee," she said. Then she sat down on the other side of Kinski and began to eat her piled up plate of food.


	4. Chapter 4: Rattlesnake Jake

_In the middle of nowhere…_

_Luminite flapped his wings over the desert scenery. Shadows were already being seen on the ground from the dried up plants as Luminite continued soaring through the air. His nose twitched as he sniffed the air. He could smell blood. Not mortal blood. Luminite's snow white wolf ears perked up as he heard a strange shifting, slithering sound. His piercing green eyes darted. Finally, he spotted the creature he was looking for. _

_Jake slowly slithered along the hard packed sand. A thin, smeared curved line of blood trailed behind the dying rattlesnake. He clenched his teeth tightly and groaned in pain as he continued on his way. Suddenly, a pale white wolf with pure white wings appeared in front of him. Jake raised his front half up. He glared down at the wolf. The wolf calmly stared back up at him. Jake hissed angrily. _

"_Who are you? What do you want?" snapped Jake angrily as he rattled his tail. The wolf didn't flinch. "My name is Luminite, I am an Immortal," he explained. Jake bared his fangs. His soup can body scraped against the rocks underneath him. "Who sent you?" he asked. Luminite frowned at the snake. "It doesn't matter right now, I would like to make a bargain with you," he said. Jake stared at the wolf. _

"_You can do nothing." he said and started to turn around and slither away. Luminite sighed and pulled out his shiny, silver blade from his belt. "Seems kind of low for your master to leave you in pain like this…wasn't he supposed to keep you immortal as you did his dirty work?" Luminite asked, examining the blade calmly. Jake stopped in his tracks. He turned his head back to the wolf. Luminite smiled a small smile, not looking up. Jake narrowed his eyes. _

_"...What kind of bargain?" he asked. Luminite finally looked up from his blade. "An alliance. I want you to join us, The Immortals. To fight the one demon they call Blor." _

_Jake hissed angrily at the name. "Blor is in on this?" he asked. Luminite nodded. " He is weak here on this mortal world. He's already sharing a body with a host by the name of Bad Bill." _

_Jake cursed angrily. Luminite raised an eyebrow. "You have heard of him too?" he asked. Jake snarled. "You have no idea." After a while of silence, Jake looked back at the immortal. "Why is Blor in all this?" he asked. Luminite sighed and picked off a bit of dirt from the tip of his blade. "__Your master hired him, he's taking your place. Some rumor floating around that your master said a certain rattlesnake is not doing his job." Jake's red eye glowed in fury. He raised the front half of himself higher over the immortal's head. _

"_Lies!" Jake roared. Luminite looked up at the snake and took a step back. Jake hissed angrily and fired a couple bullets at the wolf. Luminite fell backwards from the impact. Jake breathed heavily and lowered his gun. He loomed over the wolf. Seconds later, Luminite came to. The bullets in his stomach evaporated away. Gold spirit -like currents circled around Luminites stomach till the wounds were gone and disappeared with them. Jake recoiled in slight surprise._

_Luminite looked up at the snake. "I wasn't lying when I told you I was an Immortal," he said and got up. His silvery armor glinted in the sunlight. He brushed off the dirt from his light grey cloak that wrapped around him like a serape. He retrieved his blade from the ground and looked back up at Jake. "You join us in taking down Blor, Luminite said. Jake narrowed his eyes. "I work alone." _

_Luminite's ears twitched. "Fine, let me rephrase it: would you take the job to destroy Blor?" he asked. Jake didn't answer. "What is it for me then?" the snake asked. Luminite pointed the blade to Jake. "The thing you desire most: your freedom." Jake's eyes widened.__He slowly lowered his head and looked down at his soup canned body. Blood oozed out from the sides. The sharp, rusty metal ridges of the cans bit deep into his gut. Pain... Eternal pain. Jake swallowed and turned his head back to the wolf_

"_You can free me from this curse?" he asked. Luminite nodded. "I have enough powers to free you," Luminite said. Jake gave him a look. "You only have a limited amount of powers?" he asked. Luminite nodded. "This mortal world is different from my world." Jake stared down at the white wolf. "I have one last question. Can I trust you?" Luminite calmly stared back at Jake. "Depends. Can I trust you?" Luminite asked. Jake didn't say anything. _

_After a pause, Jake finally made up his mind. "All right, I'll take down Blor," he said. The wolf nodded. He walked up to the snake and touched where the soup cans connected to his real, scaly body. Jake stared down. The gold currents circled around where Luminite's hand was. _

_Luminite raised his blade and brought it down. Jake braced himself as the tip of the knife pierced his body. Jake's eyes widened a bit. He felt no pain. Gradually, the soup cans and metal pieces lifted away from him. Jake blinked. Even his red light eye was gone, he could see out of both eyes again. Jake stared down at himself. His body was back the way it was four years ago. _

_Luminite collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. Jake stared down at the wolf. Luminite breathed heavily. After a couple seconds, he recollected himself and got up. _"_I did... my part of the deal... now its your turn. You have... regained your immortality. You... have a better... chance into taking down... Blor...just as the prophecy said..." He muttered the last part. _

_Rattlesnake Jake nodded impatiently "Is there anythin' else I need to know before I leave?" he snarled. Luminite narrowed his eyes. "If you don't... complete the mission... and double cross me, you... lose your immortal... powers..." Luminite placed his hands on his knees, feeling very weak. Jake hissed angrily at Luminite. With that he slithered away. _

_When Jake was out of sight. Luminite straightened up. He took a deep breath, then exhaled before lifting his wings. He jumped into the air and flew over the desert landscape toward Dirt. "My mission is... done. I hope... Brim had success... in finding Mr. Black," said Luminite to himself. He flapped his white feathery wings and soared toward the sun already going down, making the sky a beautiful orange. _


	5. Chapter 5: Return

Kinski returned from the food table with another piece of cake. He nudged me with his elbow and offered me a piece. I snapped out of my state of shock. "Huh?" I asked. Kinski lifted the slice of cake. "Cake?" he asked. I just shook my head. "No... you have it," I said. Kinski looked down at the piece of cake and back up to me. "I dont vant it," he said. I turned my head to him.

"Then why did you get it?" I asked. Kinski lifted the cake to my face again. "I vant you to 'ave it," he said. I gave Kinski a look. Kinski blinked, still holding the plate in his hands. "You 'avent eat," he said. I sighed, "I'm sorry, Kinski...I lost my appetite," Kinski cocked his head confusingly. "Vas vrong?" he asked in his German accent.

I heasitated. I thought back to when Roon and I were talking. I didnt know what Kinski would think about getting married. I turned to Kinski. "Kinski...do you...do you ever think..." I hesitated. Kinski just stared at me. His face gradually started to change to a more confused expression. I tried again. "What do you think about-" I was interrupted when Spoons appeared in front of us.

"Banshee, Kinski, have you two seen Rango. We have spotted something that he needs to see," said Spoons. Kinski and I exchanged glances. Just then, Rango appeared. "What's going on?" he asked. Spoons pointed over to the far mountains. "There is something you need to see," he repeated. Something in his voice made me nervous. Something was wrong.

With that, Spoons started walking toward the entrance of the town. Rango, Kinski, and I followed. Spoons led us up the twisting stairs to the top of one of the watch towers.

Since Bill left town, no one couldn't get over the fact that he was still out there. So, the posse built four watch towers. One at each corner of the town and a fence that went around the town for protection. We stopped at the top and looked out over the desert scenery. The sun was going down. The cool winds were already picking up and lightly ruffling our fur. Spoons pulled out his telescope and handed it over to Rango.

"Look straight over there, where the mountains are," Spoons instructed. Rango lifted the telescope to his right eye and peered through. After a couple minutes of silence, Rango slowly lifted his head from the telescope. His peeling, crumbling face was hard and serious.

I took the telescope out of Rango's corpse hand and peered through the telescope. At first I had no idea what I was supposed to be looking at. After a couple adjustments and slowly moving the devise, I found it. A building. It didn't look like a human made building, it looked like something else. Something…familiar…

I lowered the telescope from my eye. Rango faced Spoons.

"We'll go check it out," Rango said and gave Spoons a small salute. Spoons nodded and retrieved the devise from my wings. With that, Rango and I found our way down the stairs, right when Kinski took his turn with the telescope.

Minutes later, Kinski came down the stairs, right when I transformed into the Nightmare and was ready to take off. Kinski jumped on my back before Rango or I could stop him. I decided not to say anything as I lifted my massive wings and took off toward the mountains.

…

After a couple minutes of silence, Rango told me to land. I landed and stayed in my Nightmare transformation. The hunchback jackrabbit and zombie sheriff jumped off my back and stared at what stood next to the rocky mountains. A hotel.

Kinski narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything. Rango and I stared at the hotel in disbelief. It was Bill's hotel, I could tell. It was out of place where it stood. The hotel seemed taller, and at a slant, but still similar to the one Bill and his henchmen lived in.

"Well…um," said Rango, not sure what to say. I growled at the hotel. We didnt say anything as we stared at the hotel. It was impossible. How could he have returned? After staring at the building, Rango turned his head to both of us. "Let's go back, and tell the posse. We'll figure out a plan, but fer now, we stay away from here, agreed?" asked the undead sheriff. Kinski and I exchanged glances. "Agreed?" asked Rango, a little more stern. I nodded my head. Rango's eyes flickered over to the hunchback jackrabbit. Kinski just rolled his eyes, "fine."

Rango eyed both of us suspiciously. Both of his eyes went in opposite directions and stared at us. Kinski's eyes widened a bit at the sudden ability the undead chemeleon had. He cocked his head in amazement. Rango's eyes flickered back to normal. Kinski snapped out of his state and looked up to me. I looked back over at the hotel.

Kinski looked over at the sheriff, who took a couple steps away from us to glare at the hotel. Kinski turned back to me again, this time wanting to talk to me. I lowered my head next to him. He cupped his furry hand next to his mouth and whispered into my ear. "Later, ve kill Bill. Yes?" he asked. I moved my huge head away from him and gave him a look. I knew Kinski still didn't really like the sheriff or any of the citizens. He still had that mischievous, gunslinger streak in him. He'll never listen.

Suddenly, before I could answer, Rango walked past us. Kinski and I jolted and looked away, hoping the undead sheriff didn't hear our conversation. "Ok, lets get going," he said and climbed up onto my back. Kinski and I exchanged glances. Kinski pointed over to the hotel with his right hand. He lifted his left hand and made a gesture as if he was slicing his neck. Then let his head tilt to the side and stuck his tongue out. Nothing was going to stop Kinski from reaching his goal. He wanted Bill dead. After his little charade, he climbed up onto my back. I lifted my wings and took off.

When Rango, Kinski and I arrived back at Dirt, Rango asked his posse to gather up inside his office. When everyone assembled inside the jail, Rango explained to the men and his wife about Bill and how his hotel was seen. His posse were appalled. Rango calmed them down and told them how they were going to think up a plan to take him down. Kinski and I stood near the doorway. I clutched the ends of the blanket tightly around myself as I listened to everyone's thoughts.

Finally, Kinski nudged me with his elbow. "Le's go outside," he whispered. I nodded and we both walked out the door. When we were outside Kinski closed the door and led me further away from the jail, out of earshot. "Kinski, I think we should listen to Rango on this one," I said. Kinski narrowed his eyes. "Vell, I don't! I aint listenin' to zat sheriff. By ze time he and 'is goons think up of a plan, Bill vill 'ave us as 'is slaves!" shouted the hunchback jackrabbit. Some citizens stopped what they were doing and stared at Kinski. Kinski huffed angrily and took a couple breaths to calm down.

I waited till everyone went back to whatever they were doing and looked up at Kinski. "Why don't you give Rango and his posse a chance? Whats the difference between your plan and everyone elses plan?" I asked him. Kinski's eyes stared deep into mine. Insanity was seen in them. "I 'ave a plan zat vill vork," he said, smirking. I raised an eyebrow at him. Kinski stopped smirking.

"Come on, Banshee," he said, pleading. He went down to my eye level. His huge, child like eyes stared back at me. After staring at him, I looked away. "Fine!" I said angrily. Kinski grinned. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and straightened up. I blushed and transformed into The Nightmare. Kinski got on my back and we flew to Bill's place.


	6. Chapter 6: Masks

When we landed, I changed back into my normal self. Kinski draped a blanket over me. I thanked him. We hid behind a couple rocks when we heard a noise. Kinski and I watched as a group of masked people walked into Bill's place. The sun faced our direction. I had to look away. I couldn't stare at Bill's hotel for long. Kinski squinted his eyes and told me what was happening.

"Bill's greetin' everyone at ze door…" He paused for a moment before continuing. "Zere's guards everyvhere. Even if ve tried to take zem down from ze top or ze bottom, others vill see us and kill us," he said and looked away. I looked down at my wings. It seemed impossible.

Just then we heard voices. Kinski looked back up. I looked over as well. A couple in elegant clothes wearing masks were coming to where we were hiding. I turned my head to Kinski. Kinski tensed up. I looked at him, then at the approaching couple. Before I could stop him, he lunged right when the two were in front of us. Kinski knocked them out and ripped the masks off the couples faces. One was a male, the other was a female. They didn't look familiar.

"Kinski, what are you doing?" I asked, getting up from behind the rocks. Kinski tossed a mask to me. "Ve are going to a party," he said mischievously as he held up the other mask to his face. I blinked at him confusingly then stared down at the mask in my wings…

…

Kinski rang the doorbell to the new and improved Hotel of the Gila Monster. Once Kinski's index finger pushed the doorbell, it instantly went to the collar of his shirt. He tugged the collar of his shirt and grunted in annoyance.

Kinski wore the male's nice black tuxedo and shiny black dress shoes. His hair was combed back in a way to make him look more pleasing, and not dishevelled. He wore the mask, which looked like a demon face. It had horns on the top of its head, sharp teeth, and wild hair on the sides.

I wore the silvery grey shawl, that covered my wings, and the dress that the female wore. It was a nice elegant black dress (that I wanted to burn) with little sequences that glittered in the sunlight. Kinski liked how it glittered. I shot him a look and he quickly looked away from the dress. My mask had horns as well, but mine had ears and two long sharp fangs on the edges of the mouth.

The sun was setting. Three and a half hours till it was officially night for the gang and they became immortal. The door opened and Bill appeared. He grinned. "Good evening, I'm so glad you could make it, come in," said Bill in an amused tone. Kinski and I glared at the Gila Monster from behind our masks, but Bill didn't see it as he led us in.

I looked down and noticed Kinski fingering his gun. I placed my wing on top of his hand and shook my head. Kinski stared back at me. Then he cursed under his breath and placed the gun back in its holster. I knew he was itching to kill Bill, but something told me it wasn't the time…yet. We still had three and a half hours anyway…

Kinski and I entered the exquisite ballroom. It was a huge room lined in gold. Portraits of rich animals lined the walls. Decorative chairs sat under the portraits where a couple of elegant and well dressed creatures sat as they watched everyone else dance on the polished pink marble floor. There was more then fifty well groomed and dressed animals dancing the waltz to a couple of musicians playing instruments. They all wore scary looking demon masks.

I felt Bill's presence behind us. We jumped and quickly faced him. Bill smiled. "Go ahead, enjoy yourselves, I'll be back." With that, he left. Kinski and I exchanged glances. We watched as all the masked people danced to the music. We awkwardly stood there, not sure what to do. Some masked people turned their heads to us and looked at us suspiciously. Kinski turned his head to me. I looked up at his creepy mask he wore. I didn't like how everyone had to wear these creepy demon masks, but it was the only way for us to get in without being noticed.

Kinski glanced back over to the dancers one last time before sighing. He didn't want to dance, but he had no choice. He awkwardly placed his hand on my back and the other on my wing. I placed my wing on his shoulder and the other in his hand. Then we awkwardly danced the waltz. I felt myself heat up in embarrassment. Kinski's hand started to sweat in my wing. He accidentally tripped over my dress. He regained his balance and averted his eyes from me. "Sorry," Kinski whispered to me. I forgave him, "Have you ever danced before?" I asked him. Kinski shook his head.

I looked over at the other people in the room. They didn't seem to notice us, as they danced and twirled around in the room. I turned back to Kinski. "Just follow my lead," I said. Kinski nodded and let me lead. It was a bit tough, but once Kinski got the hang of it, we were dancing the waltz just like everyone else.

Suddenly Kinski noticed something. He looked at me and then flickered his eyes over to my right. I turned and spotted Stump and Chorizo. They didn't wear masks. They were both dancing with other girls. The funny thing was, they were dancing with girls who were taller then them. The masked girls had to stoop down really low just to get down to their eye level.

Suddenly, Stump turned and noticed us. He unclasped his hand with the girl he was dancing with and punched Chorizo in the shoulder. Chorizo said something in Spanish angrily and turned. Stump nodded his head to us. Chorizo turned in our direction. Kinski and I averted our eyes away and continued dancing. I felt Kinski's body tense up.

"Remember why we are here," I whispered to him. Kinski turned back to me and ducked his head low to my level. "I ferget vhy ve are 'ere, ve shouldn't be dancing, ve should be-." Suddenly, Kinski felt a tap on his shoulder. Kinski twisted around and looked down. Stump grinned up at the hunchback jackrabbit.

"May I cut in?" he asked. Kinski blankly stared down at him through his mask. Stump just ignored his confusion and gently pushed him aside and came up to me. Stump was very short compared to me, I could glance right over the top of his head. He placed his left hand on my waist and his right in my left wing. Then we danced away from Kinski.

"Hello, Banshee," said Stump. I looked down at him in shock. Stump continued. "Don't act so surprised. I know why you guys are 'ere, it ain't gonna work," muttered Stump. I looked down at Stump confusingly. "What are you talking about?" I asked him. Stump narrowed his eyes at me, "its obvious, I recognize Kinski's gun stickin' out of his belt!" snapped the stumpy jackrabbit. I turned my head over to where Kinski stood. Stump was right, even from where I danced, I could see Kinski's gun sticking out. Then I turned back to Stump. "Why wont it work?" I asked.

Stump jerked his head over to the other animals who were dancing. "All those people, aren't who they seem to be, girly. They are hired assassins…look closely," he said. I still wasn't really sure what Stump was talking about, but I looked over to the other dancers anyway. The dancers seemed normal, but when I squinted, I saw what Stump meant by "looking closely."

They were armed. Knives were sticking out from their boots and dresses. Guns hidden under coats and around necks as jewellery. I gapped. Stump nodded. "This was Bill's plan, he knew you guys would come to kill him, so he hired over fifty assassins to come and pretend to be invited rich guests," Stump said and twirled me. I couldn't believe it, he knew we were coming? How was that possible?

I stopped twirling and gave the jackrabbit a hard glare. "How do I know if what you're telling me is also part of Bill's plan?" I asked suspiciously. Stump sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Of course," he muttered. Then he looked to his left and right to see if anyone was looking. He looked down, collecting himself, and then looked into my eyes. "Because…Kinski is still my friend, I don't want him to get killed…" Then he let go of my wing and pulled out a scrap of cloth.

It was the piece of my shirt with a red symbol. My symbol. Stump's face was filled with sorrow. "Please, trust me, and please promise to watch over Kinski, and not let him get killed, Chorizo and I miss him…don't tell him I said that," he muttered in a low voice. I stared down at the piece of cloth. The way he was using it was shocking. Trust. I looked down at the short jackrabbit. Finally, I nodded.

Just then, Kinski appeared and shoved Stump aside. He swept me away from the stumpy jackrabbit. Then Kinski stopped and turned his head to Stump, "May I cut in?" he asked in a mock tone. Stump regained his balance and gave Kinski a look. Kinski ignored it and led me away from him.

"Ve gotta get out of 'ere," Kinski muttered. I nodded, "I know, the dancers are hired assassins," I said. Kinski looked at me. "How did you know zat?" he asked. I turned to Stump, who still had the piece of cloth with my symbol on it. He gave me a nod, then slipped the cloth into his pocket and disappeared into the crowd. "A little jackrabbit told me," I said. Kinski narrowed his eyes, "Vell, a little Spanish speaking rodent told me, now le's get out of 'ere," he said. Right when we turned around, Bill stood in front of us. We yelped and jolted in shock.

"Are you two leaving? The party is just starting," said Bill in a firm tone, insisting that we stayed. Kinski started to move past Bill. Bill grabbed him roughly by the collar and shoved him back. Kinski snarled from behind his mask.

Bill smirked, "You two ain't goin' nowhere," he said. Just then, the dancing assassins stopped dancing. They surrounded us, pulling out their weapons and aiming them at our faces. Kinski and I froze in our tracks. We stood in our spaced, open circle, staring outward at the assassins. I felt Kinski's hand brush up against my wing. I looked down and noticed as his fingers curled around. Gripping my wing tightly. I looked up at him. His eyes were narrowed and his teeth were clenched as he glared angrily at the assassins from behind his mask. I focused back to the assassins that faced me. We fell right into a trap.


	7. Chapter 7: Angel

_At the town of Dirt…_

_Right after Kinski and Banshee left to see what Bill was up to, the town of Dirt went off their own way. Petunia stayed outside. She hummed a happy little tune as she played with her stethoscope. She walked up to a roadrunner, which was Rango's roadrunner, named Excelsior, and placed the round silver disk up against the animal's chest and listened. Excelsior's head loomed over the little girl, jerking its head to get a clear view of the girl. Petunia smiled up at the roadrunner. Suddenly, a cold gust of wind picked up. The Excelsior's head jerked straight up. His legs started to move. He squawked and started to move uneasily. _

"_What's wrong, birdie?" asked Petunia. Excelsior squawked again and quickly bolted down the street. Petunia watched him till he was out of sight. Suddenly, she heard a noise behind her. She turned around and gasped. A female rabbit in a pale grey cloak came down from the sky right before her eyes. She moved her long hair out of her eyes, but the one thing that made Petunia gasp, was her huge wite feathery wings. The rabbit landed ten feet from her. Petunia couldn't move as she stared at the beautiful creature. _

"_Are you an angel?" asked Petunia to Brim. Brim smirked. Mortal children who see her always ask that question to her, and it never seemed to get old, she enjoyed it. Brim went down to Petunia's height. "You could say that," she said. Petunia gazed up at Brim's beautiful ivory white wings. Its sharp feathers twitched in the breeze. "What are you doing here? Are you lost?" asked Petunia, still staring at Brim's wings. Brim's smile widened as she shook her head. _

"_No, little one, I am on a mission. I need to see someone by the name of Mr. Black," she asked. Petunia's eyes widened. "Mr. Black, I know him! I could tell you where he is!" said Petunia happily as she scurried off down the dusty street. Brim straightened up on her hind legs and watched the little rodent run off. The immortal rabbit cocked her head a bit and beamed some more. _I guess coming to the mortal world isn't so bad…and this job is so easy,_ Brim thought. Her huge angel-like wings tucked up against her back as she strolled down the street after the little girl._

_Petunia found Mr. Black, still hammering and sawing away at a couple of boards. Petunia came up to him and tugged on one of his coattails. Mr. Black's head jerked up and turned. He looked down and noticed Petunia. Mr. Black smiled at the girl. Petunia smiled back. "Hi Mr. Black, an angel wants to speak with you," said the little girl. Mr. Black's goggles twitched as he cocked his head confusingly. _

_Mr. Black stared down at the girl for a minute, then smiled and decided to just go with what the little girl was talking about. He placed his tools down on his workbench and followed the girl outside. _

_Right as they walked out of Mr. Black's workshop, Brim appeared. Her wings unfolded and splayed out from her back. Mr. Black froze in his tracks. Petunia turned her head to him, then to Brim. Mr. Black's goggles twitched up and down Brim's body, but mostly stared at her wings. The steam punk themed spider rubbed his front arms nervously together. The angel spoke. _

"_Mr. Black? I must speak with you," she said. Mr. Black just stood there. Brim cleared her throat. "It is very important that I discuss this with you, your world is at the brink of being destroyed and taken over by the Underworld," she added. Mr Black stayed frozen in his spot. Brim turned her focus to Petunia. Petunia came up to Brim and motioned her hand. Brim went down to Petunia's eyelevel and turned her ear to the girl. _

_Petunia cupped her hand to the side of her mouth and whispered: "He doesn't speak." Brim gave the girl a bewildered look. "He can't speak?" she asked. Petunia shrugged. "I dunno, I have never heard him speak," she said. Brim sighed and placed a hand over her eyes. _I'm never going to get out of here,_ she thought, sighing loudly again and looking back up at the mute spider through her furry fingers. _

_Suddenly, Brim heard a noise behind her. She whipped around. Two slightly curved blades with strange metal designs on them came out from her sleeves and into her hands at lightning speed. She turned fully around and raised her weapons. She stopped herself. Her eyes widened a bit. _

_Standing before her, was the whole town. They stared at her in shock, mostly at her wings. She lowered her blades and straightened up. The town didn't move. They weren't sure whether to be afraid or not. Finally, one of them spoke. _

"_W-who are you?" the person asked, who was a ash grey rabbit with a corkscrew for an arm. Brim stared at the kid for a minute, before shifting over everyone's surprised faces. Finally, she spoke. _

"_Brim, my name is Brim," said Brim. No one spoke as they stared in awe at the newcomer. "Wh-what are you doin 'ere?" asked Sergeant Turley. Brim explained her situation. "There's an evil demon, his name is Blor," she said. No one said anything. _"_He's here," she continued. "He's in the mortal body of a Gila Monster. I think his name is …Bad Bill." Everyone gasped. Brim raised an eyebrow. "You people know him?" she asked. Everyone nodded. "Of course we know him," said Elgin, stepping forward. Brim looked at the cat. "Where can I find him?" she asked. A couple citizens of Dirt pointed over toward the mountains. _

"_There, his place is there, Banshee-" suddenly, Spoons stopped in mid sentence. He gasped and started looking around. "Where's Banshee? And Kinski?" he asked outloud. Everyone looked around. They were gone. Everyone started to panic. Brim's eyes widened at the scared crowd. _

"_What do they look like?" asked Brim. "Banshee's a bat, and Kinski is a hunchback jackrabbit," said a citizen. Brim nodded and spread open her wings. She faced the mountains. This was Brim's first time on the mortal world called Earth. She never liked the stories about the mortal world, but she had no choice, and she didnt want to mess this mission up. Before anyone could answer, Brim took to the skies toward Bill's place._


	8. Chapter 8: Crashing the Assassin Party

_Bill's Place..._

Bill took a step forward toward us. With a flick of his wrists, he yanked off the masks from our faces. Kinski's ears flopped down. My ears sprung up. Bill grunted, "I can't believe the Dirt folks wanted you two freaks to come 'ere and kill me… dim-witted assholes," he said harshly. Kinski growled and touched his gun. Instantly, a thousand hammers on each different type of gun were clicked back. The clicks echoed in the room, making the atmosphere thicken. I held my breath and squeezed Kinski's hand.

"Don't," I whispered. Kinski hesitated, then he sighed angrily, seeing that there was no way out of this. He slowly pulled out his gun and dropped it to the floor. It made a loud clunking sound of metal hitting against marble. Bill smirked and lifted his hand up. Instantly, all the assassins lowered their weapons. I sighed a small sigh of relief, but we were not out of the woods yet.

Bill grinned. "You two are idiots. Thought you could stop me? You have no idea what I have planned for you." With that, Bill crushed the masks in his hands. They cracked and broke like eggshells. The pieces crashed onto the floor.

Suddenly, a yelp was heard. Everyone turned. Stump accidentally tripped over his own shoes.

I took the chance while everyone was distracted and turned into The Nightmare. I screamed, making a group of assassins fly backwards. They crashed into the huge glass window. Their blood splattered against the broken glass. I spread open my wings, smacking other assassins across the room.

Kinski grabbed his gun from the floor and stood beside me. He fired a couple rounds at the assassins who started shooting at me. I screeched in pain when a couple bullets and knives dug into my back. Kinski shot a couple assassins in the head before turning to me. He pulled out two knives out of my wing closest to him. Blood dripped out from the wound.

Suddenly, a couple bullets whizzed by him, nicking me on the shoulder. Kinski whipped around and fired a couple more bullets before getting hit himself. He screamed in pain as he went down on his knees. His gun fell out of his hand next to him. I looked up and screeched, sending twenty assassins back. They smacked up against the wall and collapsed. A pool of blood formed around the bodies.

I turned and spotted Bill. He was running away. I lifted my wings and lunged toward him. He fell on the ground when my massive wings came down on him. He cursed as he twisted himself around to face me. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at my face.

Suddenly, his gun was shot out of his hand. He screamed and cursed up a storm. Kinski came up to Bill and aimed his gun at this face. "Tell us vhat yer planning!" Kinski shouted at Bill. Bill's mouth curled upward into an evil grin. "I don't have to tell ya anything, you'll find out in exactly…ten seconds." Kinski's eyes widened. He turned his head to me.

"Ve gotta git out of 'ere!" he said, panicking. I didn't understand what was going on. I turned back to Bill. He was gone! My eyes widened. _How did he-?_ "Banshee!" screamed Kinski. I turned back to him and lowered my head. Kinski jumped on and I flapped my wings. I flew toward the broken window.

Suddenly, an explosion went off. My wings felt the impact. I screamed in pain, causing me to crash into a marble column and collapse to the floor. I turned back to my normal self. My wings were bleeding and pain shot all over my body. I turned my throbbing head to the destroyed ballroom.

I spotted Kinski. He landed fifteen feet from me. His hair was wet with his own blood. His clothes were tattered and he wasn't moving. I struggled to get up, but collapsed. I was weak, and in a lot of pain. I looked up and noticed the remaining assassins surrounding me. They aimed their weapons at me. I flinched at the sight of the guns and closed my eyes tightly.

Suddenly, I heard a noise. I opened my eyes and saw a white female rabbit come out of nowhere. She pulled out a blade from her belt and lunged forward toward the group of assassins that surrounded me. Her swift movements and attacks were graceful and fast. I watched in awe.

She was pure white, even her hair. Her shocking blue eyes were the only thing that had color. Her lips were very pale pink, close to white. Her alabaster hair was short, except for a foot long white braid that came down to the middle of her back. She wore a grey, silvery cape that only came down to her waist, and a matching grey skirt that went down to her knees. What was really impressive was the body armor she wore. The armor was silvery white. The stunning metal gleamed in the remaining sunlight.

When she killed the rest of the assassins she turned to me. I couldn't move as I stared up at her. She knelt down to me and gingerly helped me up. My blood stained her grey skirt. She took off her short cape and carefully wrapped it around me. My body stopped trembling. I started to feel dizzy and sick. She draped my limp wing over her and helped me walk around the debris.

My heart skipped a beat when I noticed Kinski at the corner of my eye. "Kinski," I said weakly. The female rabbit turned her head and noticed the bleeding hunchback jackrabbit. Suddenly we heard footsteps. I turned my head slightly and saw Bill, Stump, and Chorizo coming toward us. Behind them were a bunch of guards. They raised their guns.

Before I could react, the female rabbit jumped into the air. My eyes widened when out of her back, grew two beautiful, long white feathery wings. Bill, Stump and Chorizo lowered their guns in shock. The female rabbit flapped her wings and soared away.

She held on to me, making sure I wouldn't fall. I flinched and struggled in her grasp. "No…Kinski," I said. Finally, for the first time, I heard the female rabbit speak. "I'm sorry,its too late," she said. Then I went limp and everything went black…

* * *

_ The guards lowered their weapons and gapped in shock. Stump's eyes were wide in awe. _She's beautiful,_ thought the stumpy rabbit. He felt his heart thumping loudly in his chest. Stump snapped out of his reverie when Bill started talking. _

"_Dammit, _they're_ here," he cursed angrily. Stump and Chorizo turned to the Gila Monster. "Who's here?" asked Chorizo. Bill growled under his breath. "Them blasted Immortals," he said. Stump's eyes widened. _The female rabbit with wings was an Immortal?

_Bill turned to his guards. "Don't just gawk there! Git back to yer places! They're gone!" he shouted. The guards snapped out of their state of shock and went back to their places. Bill cursed again and kicked a couple pieces of shattered glass from the window. He scanned the destroyed ballroom, muttering angrily to himself. _

_Just then, he noticed the unconscious Kinski on the floor. His eyebrows rose. Suddenly, a voice spoke in his head._ "Take him to the lab...he will be of good use to us..." _the voice said in a spine chilling whisper. Bill__ grinned evilly and walked over to the hunchback jackrabbit. Stump and Chorizo's eyes widened in horror. Bill carefully picked up the bloody hunchback jackrabbit from the floor. Bill placed one stubby arm over the limp hunchback jackrabbit and started making his way around the broken glass and bodies. Kinski's long legs dragged along the floor... _

_Stump and Chorizo exchanged nervous glances before following their boss. Stump turned his head one last time toward the huge broken window. The female flying rabbit was gone. Stump's heart sank a bit. He couldn't stop thinking of her as he followed after Bill and Chorizo…_


	9. Chapter 9: A Horrible Feeling

I opened my eyes and sat bolt upright. Instantly, my whole body screamed in pain. I flinched and groaned. A soft hand gently touched my shoulder and carefully laid me back down. "Don't get up too fast. It's not good for you," said a familiar voice. I looked up and gasped. It was the winged rabbit that helped me escape Bill's place. "…Y-you…who are…?" I couldn't seem to focus on the right words to say. The rabbit's bright blue eyes stared at the symbol on my shirt for a minute, then back at my eyes. Finally, she said her name. "Brim, my name is Brim. I am an Immortal. You are Banshee, is that right?" she asked. I nodded, but hten groaned in pain. "How...how long was I...?" I asked, but faltered. "You have been out for three days," she answered me. My eyes widened a bit. _I was out for three days? _I thought. Brim nodded, then sadly looked down into her lap.

"I'm sorry, I wasnt able to save that other fellow…Kinski, was that his name?" she asked. My eyes widened and I sat up again. "Kinski! Where is he? Is he ok? What happened to h-" Pain shot through my body again, and Brim had to carefully lay me down.

"Stop getting up, calm down," she said firmly. "Where is he?" I asked, I felt tears coming to my eyes. Brim stared at me. "He's still at Bill's place," she said. I gapped. "He's still at Bill's place?! We have to go and save him! We..." I blinked at her. The way she was staring at me was strange. "What?" I asked. Brim pointed at my eyes. "Your eyes…they're…" her voice faltered. She seemed nervous about something. "What?" I asked again. Before Brim could answer, the door opened. Rango and Beans came in. Beans held a tray with a glass of water and medicine.

"How you feelin,' Banshee?" asked Beans. "Fine," I said and turned back to Brim. I opened my mouth to ask her what she thought of my eyes, but Rango interrupted. "Sorry about Kinski. When Miss Brim told us about him getting captured, we immediately tried asking Bill to give him back. He still hasnt answered." said the zombie sheriff.

I felt tears come to my eyes. Brim noticed, but then looked away. She got up. "I must go," she said. "Wait-" I said, but Brim left the room. I narrowed my eyes in frustration. I tried getting up but Beans and Rango forced me back into bed.

"You can't get up, you must rest," said Beans. I huffed angrily. "I don't have time to wait! I need to talk to Brim, and save Kinski," I said angrily. Beans narrowed her eyes. "No, in yer condition, you wont be able to fight," she said. I laid back down on my pillow. I rolled over, away from Beans and Rango. Tears trickled down my face.

At the corner of my eye, I watched as Beans placed the tray of medicine onto the nightstand next to my bed. She was about to reach over and touch my shoulder, but Rango stopped her. "Leave her be," he said to her. Beans hesitated. Her eyes looked over to me, then back at Rango. Finally, her hand lowered and she straightened up next to my bed. She sighed. Finally the two lizards left my room.

* * *

_Brim muttered angrily to herself. She kicked the wall next to her._ Why couldnt I have saved him when I had the chance?! _Brim screamed in her head. _She_ sighed and took a couple meditation gestures to calm down. "This is not good for me...I dont want to lose my job," she said quietly to herself. This was her second mission. Her first mission...it didnt turn out so well. She was given one more chance to keep her job and continue on with missions. She needed to make things right, and right now, she needed to save Kinski...but how?__ She thought for a minute. She didn't want any mortal in the hands of Blor. Blor was a horrible demon, and was never to be trusted. She wanted to hurt herself for not being able to help the hunchback jackrabbit; even for not saving him right when she returned Banshee to the Dirt people. "He might already be dead," she thought. Guilt sliced through her again. _

_She walked down the stairs. There, the Rodent family sat. They got up when Brim appeared. "Is Banshee all right?" asked Mrs. Rodent. Brim stopped in front of the family. She eyed each worried face. "Yes...she is fine," she said. She was about to leave, but stopped. She turned back around to the family. "I want to ask you good people something, about Banshee," she said. The family exchanged glances. _

_"Um...sure. Would you like to sit down miss?" asked Mr. Rodent. Brim nodded and sat down on a couch in the small living room near the kitchen. The family sat down across from her. Petunia sat down next to Brim and began to touch her wings. Mrs. Rodent eyed her daughter. "Petunia, stop touching her wings, that's impolite," she said firmly. Brim smiled down at the little girl. "No, its fine," she said. Brim's face turned serious again when she faced Mr. and Mrs. Rodent. _

_"Banshee, where did she come from? who is she? why is she here?" Brim asked. Mr. and Mrs. Rodent exchanged confused glances before looking back to the Immortal. "We have no idea. When she first came into the town, she had no idea who she was or where she came from," explained Mr. Rodent. Brim nodded, listening. "The town named her, and she stayed in the town. Everyone loved her. We welcomed her into the family and treated her as our own," said Mrs. Rodent, tears began to fill her eyes. Brim waited till it got silent. _

_"So, she has no idea who she is, hmm?" she asked, feeling a little bit more relaxed. The family nodded. "She's like an older sister," Petunia piped up. Brim turned her attention to the small girl. Petunia smiled. "She's real nice to everyone. Everyone likes her. Especially Kinski," Petunia said. Brim felt a stabbing feeling in her stomach again. Brim got up. "I must go, thank you." _

_Before the family could ask her why she wanted to know about Banshee, Brim opened her wings up and took off. They got up and made it to the door in time to see the female Immortal fly over the town and was gone. _

* * *

_Brim gazed over toward the hotel and flew toward it. She had a horrible sensing feeling. She couldnt shake it off, and the horrible sensing feeling was never wrong. Brim's thoughts were interrupted when she noticed Luminite. He wasn't flying straight. She flew down toward him. "Luminite," she called his name. Luminite staggered in the air once more before he gave up alltogether. He wings folded up around him and he fell. Brim gasped. She quickly gained speed and flew down in time to catch him. she flapped her wings and carefully landed. She gently laid Luminite down. He was weak. "Luminite," said Brim. Luminite looked up at Brim. "Brim..." said the white wolf._

_"What happened?" asked Brim Luminite lifted his head a bit. "I used up most of my...powers to fully heal the...snake," said Luminite. Brim gasped and then narrowed her eyes. "What?! Why? He's-" "Our only hope," interrupted the white wolf. Brim frowned. "The stupid prophecy was wrong-" "The prophecy... is never wrong... Brim. You never listen to... the prophecies, but they __are... true. You are a... newbie. You have never done this...before. Listen to me...Listen to someone who has actually... been here multiple times," Luminite interrupted again. Anger was heard in his voice. Brim huffed angrily and got up. _

_"Where are you...going?" he asked. Brim ignored him and pointed to Dirt. "Over there is a nice town, they will help you. I'll be back," With that, Brim opened her wings and was off toward Bill's place. Luminite sighed and laid his head back down. "Stubborn newbie...never learns," muttered Luminite under his breath. _

_... _

_Brim silently made her way through the building. She had no idea where they were keeping Kinski hostage, but her sharp instincts seemed to know. She walked along a thin, narrow hallway, up a couple stairs, across another hallway, and into a room where more rooms were. She pressed herself against a wall. A couple guards came by. When they were within arms reach, she knocked them out with the flick of her wrists. _

_She kept walking through the enormous hotel. Her instincts led her down a couple stairs and toward the end of a dark, long hallway. There, two guards stood. When they saw her, they began to fire. Brim dodged the coming bullets with ease and threw her two daggers. The daggers nicked the two in the shoulders. They screamed in pain and dropped their weapons. The guns clattered to the white marble floor. Brim took her chance and flew straight toward them. The guards didnt have time to react as they were knocked out. The two bodies collapsed to the ground. Brim picked up her daggers and opened the door. Inside was a small dark room. A dark figure was seen. _

_She finally found Kinski. He was chained up and laid there on the cold floor. Unconscious. Brim lightly placed her hand on his chest. His heart was thumping slowly. He was alive, but barely. She picked up the hunchback jackrabbit. His arm hung over her shoulder as she supported him up. She broke the chains around his wrists with her blade and walked out of the cold cell. She started to walk out and back down the hallway, up the stairs and into the huge room. Her ears suddenly stuck straight up. She stopped. Bill stood ten feet from her. _

_Brim stared at Bill. "Blor," she said angrily. Bill smirked. "My master says he's pleased to see you... Brim," Bill said. Brim bared her teeth. Bill noticed Kinski in her arms, but said nothing. Brim's fist tightened around the handle of her blade. Something didnt feel right. Suddenly, Bill began to laugh softly. _

_"What?" asked Brim sharply. Bill looked back up at the female Immortal. "Oh nothing, just something the boss said about you...about how you screwed up on yer first mission" Bill said. Brim flinched. How did Blor know? She shifted Kinski in her arms and began to slowly walk away. Bill didnt say anything. Brim slowly walked backwards, away from the possessed Gila Monster. Seeing that he wasnt doing anything, she turned around and dragged the unconscious hunchback jackrabbit down the hallway. Wasnt he going to stop her? Why were they practically giving the hunchback jackrabbit to her? Bill finally spoke. _

_"I'll give you a five second head start...newbie,"he teased. Brim didn't turn around. She started to quicken her pace. Her instincts sensed a thousand guards coming straight to her. Brim gripped her blade tightly in one arm, and the hunchback jackrabbit in the other. _At least he's still alive, _thought Brim as she looked down at Kinski, his feet somewhat dragging on the floor. Brim stopped when she saw on the other end of the hallway: an army of guards. They saw her and charged. Brim carefully placed the limp Kinski down and pulled her blades out. She got into her fighting position and lunged. _

_Brim was so busy fighting the guards, that she didnt notice that she was being watched. Stump's eyes widened with amazement. His heart thumped excitedly. _She's back. The beautiful Immortal girl is back!_ Stump stayed where he stood as he watched her flip through the air and swerve around the guards. Stump's eyes widened and almost jumped in to help her when Brim was face to face with a gun shoved into her gut. _

_The gun fired. Brim didnt flinch as she was shot. The wound instantly healed itself in seconds. Before the guard could shoot her again, Brim shoved a blade deep into his stomach and shoved him backwards into a crowd of guards. She quickly ran back, grabbed Kinski, and flew over the wounded soldiers. Stump quickly followed after her. The wounded guards got up and began to gradually make their way after Brim._

_Brim made her way to outside, onto a balcony. __She could hear all the guards looking for her. She was about to lift her wings up, when she heard a voice. She turned and noticed a short, stubby, jackrabbit. Brim took a step back and pulled her blade out. Stump raised his arms up. "Wait! Wait! I just want to talk," he said Brim narrowed his eyes. She lowered her blade a bit. "Who are you?" she asked. Stump felt his heart race. He lowered his arms and smiled. "I'm Stump," he said. Brim's expression didnt change. She took a step from him. Stump took a step forward. "I'm not going to hurt you, or Kinski," he said. _

_Brim gave the stumpy jackrabbit a look. Stump turned his head to look behind him, then back at Brim. He stared at Brim for a minute, his insides turning. "I…he…he's my friend…" Stump said. Brim looked down at the limp Kinski in her arms. She looked back up at Stump. She looked down at Stump's hands and noticed a scrap of cloth. On it, had a familiar symbol. Banshee's symbol. She remembered seeing it on her shirt. She stared at it. _

_What exactly did it mean? Was Stump on their side? Finally Brim looked up at the stumpy jackrabbit and nodded. "All right, I believe you," she said. She turned and unfurled her wings. "Wait!" said Stump and came up to her. He stopped in his tracks when she faced him. "Yes?" she asked. Stump's heart thumped loudly in his chest. He took a deep breath and calmed down. Finally, he ran his fingers through his hair and grinned up at Brim, trying to look cool. "What's yer name, miss?" he asked. Suddenly, the guards sounded like they were getting closer. "Brim," she said quickly. With that, Brim spread open her wings and took off. _

_Stump sighed dreamily as he watched Brim take off with Kinski. Suddenly, his ears perked up when he heard the guards come up from behind him. He turned around, his smile disappeared. They narrowed their eyes down at him. _

"_You let them escape!" one of them snarled, holding his shoulder where he got stabbed. Stump took a deep breath and exhaled. He shook his head. "N-no, she…she …I was this close to having my throat sliced off!" Stump said, raising his voice as he placed his thumb and index finger close together. The guards exchanged glances. Stump lowered his hand and sneered at them. "Go back to yer places, all of you! Or do ya want me to tell Bill that ya got yer asses kicked by a girl?" threatened Stump. _

_A couple guards immediately hurried off back to their positions. Some gave the short rabbit a look before sauntering off back to their places to stand and watch. Stump sighed with relief and turned around. Brim was gone, along with his deranged friend. The sun dipped down over the desert scenery. Stump looked down at the ground as he leaned up against a column. He thought of the female Immortal and sighed again. "Brim…Brim…" he muttered to himself._

* * *

_Brim landed in front of Dirt. The citizens saw her and walked over. She handed them the unconscious Kinski. "Here, he needs help," she said. Her head went up and she looked around. "Did a white wolf come here?" she asked. Priscilla, who supported Kinski's arm, nodded. "He' s resting over there," she said, pointing to the nearest building. Brim nodded and left the citizens. Priscilla looked down at the abused jackrabbit. The citizens help carry Kinski away to the Rodent's house..._

_..._

A couple hours later, I got up and walked out of the room. As I did, I could hear everyone talking. I walked down the stairs and found everyone surrounding someone. "What's going on?" I asked. The citizens turned. The crowd slowly parted and made room for me to see. Kinski. My eyes widened. He was just waking up. He sat on the kitchen table. Doc, and Petunia, stood next to the hunchback jackrabbit. Doc checked inside Kinski's mouth as Petunia listened to Kinski's heart. Doc turned off the flashlight and touched Kinski's arms. Kinski flinched a bit. Doc lowered his arms. "He seems fine...minor injuries, but other then that, he's fine," said Doc.

"Kinski," I said as I came up to him. Kinski turned his head to me when I appeared next to him. Right when he saw me, his blank face changed. Before anyone could do anything, he jumped off the kitchen table and attacked me. I attempted to scream, but Kinski shoved me down and landed on top of me. He snarled with rage as he raked his sharp fingers across my face and bit down hard on my left flapping wing, then my ears.

Petunia screamed Kinski's name and tried to help, but Kinski shoved her away. The crowd of citizens grabbed Kinski's arms and hauled him off me. Kinski screamed and thrashed voilently. Petunia started to cry as she sat there on the floor, confused and scared. Kinski was pulled back and into another room. The door closed. I stayed there on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. My eyes wide with horror.


	10. Chapter 10: Info

Claw marks decorated my face and wings. A couple bite marks were visible on the tips of my ears. Dried up blood started to crust and crumble on my body where Kinski's harsh claws and sharp, rotton teeth made contact with my body. I shivered again. It happened so fast...I thought I was going to die...

Doc came into my room for the third time. Right when he opened the door, I could hear Kinski's faint screaming downstairs. I shook uncontrollably again. Doc closed the door. "Are you ok, Banshee?" he asked me in a calm, soft voice. I shook my head. Doc sighed and carefully sat down on my bed.

"I'm sorry," he said. I felt tears roll down my face. Doc lightly touched the top of my head. "I'm trying my best...but its hard to calm him down. They did something to his mind..." his voice faltered. He didn't say anything for a minute. I blinked the salty tears away and looked up at him. "How did he escape?" I asked. Doc turned his head to me.

"Brim. Brim went and saved him. I dont know where she is now," he said. I sighed and felt more tears come down. Doc patted my head and got up. "I'm going to do the best I can to fix him. I promise," said the one eared rabbit. With that, he got up and pulled out a bottle of medicine from his black bag. He carefully rubbed the stuff on the areas where Kinski's claws ripped into my flesh. I flinched in pain. Doc apologized.

When he was done, he poured me a glass of water and helped me sit upright. I lifted up my wings, but they shook so much, I couldnt grab the glass. Doc carefully lifted the drink to my lips and slowly poured the water down my throat. He lifted it back upright after I gulped a couple sips down. He helped me lay back down and left me to rest. He picked up his bag and left the room. Closing the door after him. I sighed a shaky sigh and tried falling asleep.

...

A couple hours later, I got myself up and walked to the bathroom. My wings shook slightly as I touched the walls. The bathroom was small. It only had a tub and a sink. I took deep breaths to calm myself down as I prepared myself a bath. My clothes had dry blood on them as I carefully peeled them off and sat down in the water. The water calmed me as I sat there. The scratches on my arm stung a bit, but the pain gradually ceased.

The scared memory in my mind repeated over and over. Kinski's arms slashed out at me like lightning. His eyes filled with fear and rage. I shivered a bit. I didnt understand. What happened to him? I lowered my head down into the water. I stayed like that, till I had to come up for air. The water rolled down my face and back into the tub. I stared down at my scratched wings. The scars were visible now. Fresh blood slowly wound its way like red smoke up to the surface of the water.

My shoulders started to shake uncontrollably. My throat tightened and I began to cry. _I'm going to kill Bill,_ I thought angrily. Rage mixed with my tears.

Finally, I got up and grabbed a towel. Drying myself off as best I could and changing back into my clothes. I turned back to the tub. The water was now a pale pink from my blood. I drained the water out and slowly walked back to my bed.

Just as I did, Petunia came in. "Banshee?" she asked as she came in. I looked over at her. "Petunia? What's wrong?" I asked. Petunia rubbed her right eye with the back of her hand. "Why is Kinski so scary all the sudden?" she asked as she came in. I helped her up onto my bed and smoothed her long hair out of her eyes. "I...I dont know," I said, choking the tears back. Petunia touched her stetoscope around her neck nervously. "Is he sick?" she asked. I stopped stroking her hair and laid my wing back down. I stared down at my lap.

"I...dont know, Petunia...I don't know..." I said in a whisper. Suddenly, the silence was broken when we heard Kinski screaming downstairs again. Something crashed downstairs, making Petunia and I flinch. Petunia scooted closer to me and wrapped her arms around my stomach. "He scares me," she said. I wrapped my wings around the little girl and lightly touched the top of her head with mine.

"Its ok," I said. Tears came down my face and dripped on top of Petunias black head of hair. She looked up at me and hugged me tighter. Suddenly, my ears picked up to bits and pieces of what Kinski was saying. "Let go of me! Git back!" he screamed. Chains clattered against the floor. The citizens said something to him, but I didnt catch it. Kinski responded again. "I know part of Bill''s plan!" he said a couple of other things, then I heard my name. Suddenly, more things broke and crashed. Petunia started to whimper. She clung to my side.

We listened to Kinski scream and curse angrily till there was silence. The citizens downstairs sighed with relief and closed the door that went into the small dining room. After listening to the silence, I let go of Petunia and got up. "Where are you going?" asked Petunia nervously. I stopped at the door and turned to her. "I'm going downstairs," I said. With that, I left the girl in my room.

Downstairs, everyone was murmuring amongst themselves. I heard Kinski's name a couple times in the conversations. They were worried about him. They couldnt control him. Something was wrong with his mind. I spotted Mr. Black and Doc. "I dont think medicine will help him, and Mr. Black doesnt seem to know what's wrong with him either," said the white rabbit as he turned his head to the spider. Mr. Black shook his head sadly. Kinski's insanity wasnt a side effect.

"It's Bill's doing," said Elgin angrily. Everyone went quiet when the bobcat said that. Finally Buford spoke, "If it's Bill's doin', do ya think we can we get any info out of him? possibly Bill told him his master plan or somethin?" he asked. Everyone exchanged glances. Beans shook her head sadly.

"He wont talk to anyone…he says he'll only talk to Banshee," said Beans, finally noticing me standing behind the posse. Everyone turned. Their eyes widened when they saw me standing there. I scanned over everyone's faces, then focused my eyes on the closed door. I couldnt hear any sounds. I took a deep breath and stepped forward toward it. Priscilla instantly stepped in front of me. "He'll kill you, don't go in there," she said. Her eyes filled with fear. I turned to everyone else. Everyone's eyes were filled with fear. They didn't want me to go in there. Waffles took a step forward.

"Don't go in there, Banshee! Dont go in there! He's not himself. Bill-" "I know, Bill did this to him," I said, interrupting him. Waffles stared up at me with huge eyes. Finally, he lowered his head and stepped back to where he stood. I looked up at everyone. "We need to know what Bill is up to. If I'm the only one he wants to talk to, then I must go in."

Beans stepped forward. "No, I wont let you go in. We can find out Bill's plan some other way," she said. I stared up at her. Finally, Rango came up to his wife. He looked at her. "Beans... Kinski said he knew something about Bill's plan," Beans eyes began to fill up with tears as she stared at her husband.

"But what if he's lying? What if he just wants..." her voice faltered. Rango held Beans in his arms and then looked up at me. "Try to get Kinski to talk to you...don't worry. He's chained up, so he wont hurt you," said the zombie sheriff. I nodded and faced back to the door.

No one said anything as I walked toward the dark door. Elgin opened it for me, and I walked in. "Be careful in there," he said. I nodded, and he closed the door behind me.


	11. Chapter 11: Bitter Hatred

Darkness engulfed me. I turned my head and saw the deranged rabbit himself. The only light came from a lantern. It glowed in the room, giving the chained hunchback jackrabbit a creepy appearance. He stood against the wall across me. His arms were up, held by chains. His clothes were ripped and stained with blood. The hanging chains clinked softly against each other as he stirred. His head slowly lifted up. His eyes were hidden behind his bangs, but I could tell he was staring right back at me. His arms tensed up and his mouth curled up into a sneer.

"Banshee," he said through clenched teeth. My body instantly tensed up. Kinski's eyes were still fixed on me, and looked like as if he was trying to kill me with his mind. I took a deep breath and exhaled. "Y-you said you wanted to speak with me?" I asked. Kinski's sneer relaxed a bit. His body shifted, making the chains clink and rattle.

"Come closer," he finally said. If he could, he would be pulling his hand out in front of him, using his index finger to curl and uncurl in a creepy gesture for me to come. I hesitated, but obeyed. I took only two steps toward him. Kinski's mouth twitched in annoyance. "A little closer," he said. I took a couple more steps and stood five feet from him. "A little more," he said, his face straining a smile. "No, this is close enough," I said. Kinski's forming grin disappeared. He shifted uncomfortably. The chains clinked louder.

"I understand… I can smell yer fear," he said. I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not afraid of you," I said. Kinski snickered. "Sure," he said. I revealed my fangs. "Kinski, snap out of it, you're not yourself, they changed you, Bill did something to your mind," I said. Kinski didn't answer. He stared down at the ground. He twitched uncontrollably. He was in there still, but he was trapped. Kinski looked up at me. His eyes were wide with fear and insanity. I took one step cloer to him, but stopped. I really badly wanted to help him.

Gradually, his eyes narrowed at me. He continued to twitch uncontrollably and snarled angrily. Suddenly, he came at me. The chains held him back. He snarled and screamed. His arms thrashed and clawed the air. He kicked the lanturn aside, blowing the candle out. Making the room go into complete darkness. My eyes adjusted to the darkness. The chains rattled and crashed against eachother loudly. Kinski grabbed the flying chains and pulled them. I took a couple steps away from him.

Suddenly, I heard the chains break from the wall, allowing him a couple more feet. He reached his arms out and attacked me. I tried to scream, but Kinski clamped a hand over my mouth. His claws dug deep into my flesh as he got a good hold on me. I flapped my wings and thrashed frantically, but it was no use. He grabbed my right flailing wing and bit down hard. Blood gushed out. I screamed a muffled scream.

Instinctively, I turned into The Nightmare and got away from the insane rabbit. Kinski wasnt able to hold on to me. I used my massive wing and shoved him away from me. Kinski crashed against the wall where he was chained up. He screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground. The chains screamed like crazy and rattled uncontrollably.

The room I was in was very small. Parts of the ceiling began to fall down as my head pressed up against it. I changed back to my normal form. My chest was rising and falling at a rapid pace. Kinski was breathing hard too. His mouth was covered in red. My blood. Kinski slowly lifted himself up on all fours. He glared at me from behind his bangs. His tongue slowly came out from his mouth. He licked the side of his mouth and tasted my blood. His mouth curled up into an evil grin.

_They did something to his brain. They fixed it to where he wanted to attack me. He was forced into the mind set to kill me_. Kinski got up on his knees. He lifted his arms, straining to reach me. I took a step back till my back pressed against the opposite wall from the insane hunchback jackrabbit. I heard the chains scream and scrape against each other. He couldn't think straight. His twisted mind was even more twisted. I waited till he was done.

Finally, Kinski collapsed back down to the ground, exhausted. My heart finally stopped racing. "W-why wont you talk to anyone e-else? Why m-me?" I asked in a shaky breath. Kinski lifted his head up to me. His eyes flickered different expressions. He shook his head a bit. He didnt answer me as he continued to twitch. I stared at him.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me?" I asked him. Kinski eyes shifted before going back to me. "...B-Blor...vatch out for Blor...he vants to take over ze town again...he's ze one in charge...not Bill...Blor...he...he...vants...ze metal..." Kinski jerked and twitched violently.

I got up. "What? What about the metal? What metal? why does he want it?" I asked frantically, but it was too late. Kinski screamed in pain and started to spaz. He came at me again, slashing the air. Suddenly, I felt a pair of hands clamp down on my shoulders from behind and pull me away from the insane hunchback jackrabbit. The door closed and I was out of the dark room and back into the main room of the Rodent family's. Elgin lifted his hands from my shoulders. I turned around and faced a crowd of nervous people. "What happened? What did he tell you?" asked Sergeant Turley. I stared at all of their faces.

"He said something about a person named Blor-" I started. "Not a person...a demon," a familiar voice interrupted me. The posse parted as Brim made her way to me. She stared down at me. Everyone was quiet. All that was heard was Kinski's muffled, violent screaming from behind the door.

"Blor is the villian, not Bill. Bill is just his host," Brim explained. I stared at Brim. "You know..." I said, my voice faltering. Brim sadly looked down. "Yes, I know. My people have been trying to stop the demons from destroying the worlds for many years," she explained.

I nodded. "...Kinski also said something about metal...I think he was meaning the metal under the town..." I explained, but Brim didn't look like she was listening. She looked over to the door, then back at me. She looked nervous. "Is he...?" her voice faltered. I stared at Brim for a minute, then realized why she was nervous. I narrowed my eyes at Brim. Tears came down my face.

"You didnt save him in time!" I screamed at the Immortal. Brim's eyes widened when she saw me flicker in and out of my transformation. I snarled angrily "He wants to kill me! why did you do this?! Why did you let Bill do this to him?!" I screamed again. Brim took a step back, as she did, she reached behind her and began to pull a large gleaming sword out from the scabbard behind her back.

The posse quickly tried to calm me down and get Brim to put her sword away. I transformed, thus scaring Brim. She took a step away from me. I loomed over everyone, trying to make my way toward Brim. Finally, Beans came up to me. Her hands up in the air, trying to calm me down. "Banshee! she tried her best! she got Kinski back! That's better then him being dead!" Beans yelled up to me.

Mixed feelings flowed through me. Finally, I calmed down and went back to my normal size. I curled up into a ball and began to cry. Beans and Priscilla helped me up from the ground and led me away from Brim and the others. We walked up the stairs to my room. Petunia left with Beans and Priscilla when they layed me in bed.

I cried in my pillow till my eyes started to sting. I stayed under the covers all day. The sun sank low and stars lit up the sky. No one came into my room to see how I was doing. I finally closed my eyes and fell asleep...


	12. Chapter 12: Newbie

The next morning. I woke up and stretched my wings. I blindly moved my wings out from where I layed to the right side of the bed for Kinski. When I couldnt feel him, I slowly opened my eyes. Tears trickled down my face...I stared at the empty side where Kinski usually slept when he came into my room. I closed my eyes. I missed him so much. After a couple minutes of laying there, I finally got up and tiptoed down stairs.

Rango and everyone else was gone. Mr. and Mrs. Rodent were sitting at the breakfast table with their kids, Stub and Petunia. I came in, but then stopped dead in my tracks. Brim stood on the opposite side of the table, talking to the family as they ate their breakfast. Brim's white ears twitched and her head snapped up to me. Her blue eyes stared back at my yellow black slitted eyes. I looked away and walked to the table and sat down. Mrs. Rodent noticed me and smiled. "Oh! hello, Banshee, did you sleep well last night?" Mrs. Rodent asked me as she got up and prepared me a plate of food.

I stared down at the red and white table cloth. "I guess..." I muttered, still not looking up. The patterns on the tablecloth somewhat began to move and change, somewhat hypmotizing me. My eyes focused back when a hot white plate flashed in front of my face. The plate was filled with little brown sausages, two triangular pieces of buttered toast, and scrambled roadrunner eggs. I picked up the fork to my left and began to eat. Mrs. Rodent placed a half glass filled with water next to me, then turned her focus to Brim.

"Are you sure you dont want anything, miss Brim?" she asked. I noticed Brim shaking her head from the corner of my eye. "No thank you, mortal food is...um..." her voice faltered, trying to find the right words. "I'm trained not to eat," she said. Everyone exchanged glances. Finally, Mr. Rodent spoke. "About that. What do you mean? Are you a warrior or something?" he asked. Brim smiled a small smile. "You could say that. I'm an Immortal whose job is to help worlds from being taken over by chaos...from the demons," she said. Stub and Petunia leaned in closer on the table. Interested in Brim's story. I rolled my eyes and continued eating.

"How many missions have you done?" asked Stub with fascination. Brim lowered her head. "...One...I'm a newbie..." her voice faltered, which made me look up. "What do you mean?" asked Petunia. The Rodent family's eyes and mine all stared at the Immortal. Brim shook her head. "I dont want to talk about it...I just started working a year ago..." Brim moved away from the table and started walking toward the door. Her folded up wings brushed up against a vase. the vase crashed to the floor, startling Mrs. Rodent. Brim whipped around and noticed the smashed vase. Her eyes went wide.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry," Brim said as she began to pick up the pieces, her long white braid came down over one shoulder as the female white rabbit picked up the pieces. Mrs. Rodent had a broom with her and came up to the pile. Brim looked up at Mrs. Rodent, noticed the broom, then stopped. She sighed sadly, got up and left the house. Mrs. Rodent sighed as she began to sweep the broken pieces up. No one said anything. I suddnely felt horrible for getting mad at Brim. She didnt know; it was her first time... She didnt know any better. I got up and followed after Brim.

When I got outside, Brim was gone. I looked around on the road, but the female rabbit was nowhere to be seen. I looked around some more and walked down the road. I couldnt find the Immortal. I sighed in frustration and went back inside the Rodent Family house. Just as I did, I heard Kinski screaming in the other room again. He was awake. I spotted Mrs. Rodent quickly closing the door. Kinski's screaming suddenly ceased. Mrs. Rodent looked at me. She wiped her hands on her apron and looked down.

"I was trying to feed him...and to see if he was all right..." she said. I didnt say anything. She stared back at me. She looked like she was about to cry. Mr. Rodent, Stub, and Petunia stared at us from the table. Fianlly, Mrs. Rodent spoke. "We can't keep him in there anymore...He's too wild. I dont want him attacking my husband, or my kids," she said.

I shook my head. "He wont...he only wants to kill me," I said. Tears began to form in my eyes. Mrs. Rodent stared at me. "Well then...I dont want him in here if I know he's going to..." her voice faltered. She noticed my tears rolling down my face. She finally leaned her broom against a chair and walked up to me. She wrapped her arms around me. "I'm sorry, Banshee. I really am," she said. My throat closed up, tears came streaming down my face as I cried into her shoulder.

...

Later on in the day, everyone came to help pull Kinski out from the Rodent family home and into another place. The men gripped the chains tightly as they tried getting Kinski to cooperate. Kinski screamed and thrashed his arms wildly, trying to get away. He collapsed a couple times, but was still yanked forward to move into his new prison. I watched from my room above the scene, away from him. Gradually, Kinski got tired and began to pant heavily. The chains around him crashed into eachother.

Kinski snarled with rage and had drool dribbling down his lip and onto the ground. Right when he was entering this small shop that the town decided to chain him up in, Kinski's head suddenly whipped around and up to me. I flinched in fear and took a step back, but found myself staring back at him. His wild eyes locked onto mine. Elgin yanked the chain that connected to a metal collar around Kinski's neck, thus making him face back forward. Breaking the trance. I moved away from the window and made my way down the stairs. Kinski was chained up in his new home, meaning I was allowed to go outside again.

I went outside and walked down the street. Searching for Brim. The sun began to slowly sink over the mountains, making the sky a beautiful orange. I asked everyone, hoping that they saw her. No one seemed to know where Brim went. The horrible feeling in my stomach began to hurt even more. I looked up toward the skies. _Please dont be gone, _I thought to myself_. _

I spotted Waffles, playing with a couple of the town kids. I walked up to him."Hey Waffles, have you seen Brim anywhere?" I asked the horned toad. Waffles looked up at me confusingly with a small smile on his face. "Brim? You mean the white rabbit with wings?" he asked in his raspy voice. I nodded. Waffles' smile widened. He suddenly started jumping up and down excitedly. "Oh! yes! yes! I did! She's over there! Over there! with Lumi-something or other!" he said excitedly. I gave the short horned toad a quizzical look.

"Lumi-something or other?" Waffles nodded and pointed again. I looked over at the two story house Waffles was pointing at and walked toward it. "Thank you, Waffles," I said before leaving the horned toad. I opened the door and peeked inside. I spotted Brim, sitting on a bed. In the bed was someone new. I poked my head further in and lightly knocked on the wood. "Hello?" I said. The two white animals turned. Brim got up from the bed and pulled out her blades.

The white wolf gave her a look. "Put those away, Brim," he said firmly. Brim lowered her head in shame. She placed her blades back. I walked in. "I dont mean to intrude," I said, coming up next to the bed. The white wolf shook his head. "It's all right, Banshee," he said. I felt my heart skip a beat for a minute. The wolf smiled. "I'm sorry, Brim has told me what happened. My name's Luminite," said Luminite. I nodded. "You are an Immortal," I said. Luminite nodded. "We have been sent here to help you," he said.

"Blor," I said. Luminite nodded, "Blor heard about Mr. Black and how he was able to bring back the dead. Also, Brim told me you got some info out of your friend that he wants metal," he said, not in a question. "Yeah," I said, "I dont know why though."

Luminite sighed. "We dont either," he said, looking down at the pale, tan covers. I stared at him. "When did you get here?" I asked. Luminite looked back up at me. "I was here with Brim. I had to go and persuae Rattlesnake Jake," he said. I stiffened. "Rattlesnake Jake?" I asked.

Luminite nodded. "Yes. He is part of a prophecy into bringing Blor down." I looked down at the hard, wooden floor, letting the words sink into my cranium. "Where is he now?" I asked. Luminite sighed. "I dont know, but he gave his word to help us when the time comes." Suddenly, Luminite flinched in pain. Brim instantly came to his aid and wrung out a washcloth with water and placed it on his forhead.

"Are you ok? What happened?" I asked. Luminite clenched his teeth before answering. "I...used up most of my limited powers to give him back his...immortal body," he said. I turned to Brim. "Limited powers?" I asked. Brim looked at me and nodded. "Your world only allows us certain... priviladges...we are able to use our wings...but only use a certain amount of our powers," she explained. I instantly thought of Kinski. _Could Brim posibly untangle the mess in his head?_ Brim seemed to be reading my mind when I looked at her. She looked away.

"I cant do what you are about to ask me..." she said, looking away. I felt my knees shake a bit, but held my balance. "Why not?" I asked. Brim stared at the ground, she looked like she was about to cry. "I...I just can't...I...never learned..." she said. Luminite looked up at her and narrowed his gold colored eyes. "You will, Brim. You just need time. You are a newbie," he said. Brim didnt look up. I stared at her, feeling horrible for what I did yesterday. I came up to her and touched her shoulder, She looked down at my wing, then at my face. I gave her a small smile.

Suddenly, the quiet moment was interrupted when angry shouts were heard outside. I turned my head and looked out the window. Everyone was gathering at the front gate. Brim and I instantly left Luminite and walked outside. Outside it was getting dark. The torches were lit and flickered in the cool breeze. The sun was giving off its last rays from behind the deep, purple mountains.

The crowd kept accumulating as we came closer. A couple people in the cluster turned to us and noticed Brim. They instantly moved aside for her to get through. I followed right behind her. When Brim got to the front, she calmly looked down. I came up next to her and saw a bloody figure laying on the ground. It was Stump. My eyes widened. _What was he doing here?_ My question was ansered. I could hear a couple citizens muttering how he was found snooping around outside the town.

Stump was sticky in deep red blood. His dark colored hair clung to his face. He groaned in pain and slowly shifted his body. His scruffy, muzzle twitched. His eyes were squeezed shut. Brim's eyes seemed to widen a bit. She looked like as if she knew the jackrabbit.

Elgin and some other citizens had guns and wooden boards in their hands. Dripping in blood. Brim quickly stepped in front of the men before they could do any more harm to the short jackrabbit. Egin snarled. "Step aside, angel girl! This dont concern you!" he shouted. Brim turned to Elgin with a calm look. Elgin's hand with the wooden board seemed to shake nervously. His face was filled with anger, but his eyes were seen in sheer terror. Silently, the other men dropped their weapons and moved away from Brim, afraid that she might vaporize them with one glance.

Brim silently helped the stout jackrabbit up. Stump groaned again and rubbed his bleeding head. Brim faced everyone. "It actually does concern me. I know this man; and I can tell he's not here to hurt anyone," she said. The crowd went silent. With that, Brim silently led Stump away from the crowd, and back to where Luminite was staying. I followed. Brim's silver armor was starting to have a red tint look as Stump's bloody body brushed up against hers. When I was walking next to Stump, I could've sworn I saw him open his eyes and look up at Brim. Not in a menacing, hatred way...but in an admiring way...

...

Brim opened the door herself as she dragged the bloody rabbit in. Luminite looked over at us and sighed. "Brim...what did you do this time?" Luminite muttered. It looked almost like a family scene, where Brim was a child, bringing in a pet; and Luminite being the concerned father. Brim ignored Luminite and placed Strump down on the table. Stump groaned in pain. His blood covered most of his body, staining his clothes and fur. Brim ignored his groans. She lifted her arm and was about to touch Stump, but I grabbed her wrist before she could.

"What are you doing?" I asked her. Brim ripped her arm out of my wing. "I'm going to heal him," she said firmly. I narrowed my eyes. "If you expect Stump to give info to you about Blor's plan, you're wrong," I said. Brim stared at me, then at Stump. "...I expect to trust him. He let me escape when I went to save that hunchback rabbit," she said. I looked down at Stump in disbelief. _He let them escape?_ Stump didnt seem to like that Brim was telling me this and rolled away from me. A pool of blood revealed itself on the table.

Brim touched his shoulder, but then, Stump opened his eyes and sat upright. He got up from the table. "I-Im fine," he said. Brim was about to say something, but stopped. She watched in disbelief as the blood on his clothes and fur instantly disappeared and his bones healed themselves. Brim lifted her hand from Stump.

Stump stared at her, but then turned away when he found me looking at him. Finally, Stump walked toward the door. "Where are you going, Stump?" asked Luminite. Stump stopped at the door and sighed. His hand lowered from the knob. He couldnt leave, not with everyone outside, waiting to kill him. Even though it was night and he was now immortal, they would find a way to keep him from healing himslef. He was now a prisoner in the enemy camp. Stump slowly turned around. Luminite gave him a hard look. He scanned his eyes over to Brim, where she was staring at him in disbelief.

"Well...I was hopin' to go on my way...but I guess I'm stayin' with you lot," he said in his slight British accent. Luminite narrowed his eyes a bit. I already knew he didnt like Stump. Brim blinked. "How were you able to heal yourself?" she asked. Stump looked down at the ground, shifting from one foot to the next. "Mr. Black brought me back to life, miss. It's a side effect I'm guessin'," he answered in a small voice. Brim looked over to Luminite, who was still glaring at Stump. She sighed and walked over to a chair and sat down. She buried her face in her hands.

Stump stared at her for a minute, then sighed sadly and walked past her into the other bedroom. He stopped at the foot of the door, "well...G'nigh' then..." he muttered before he slowly entered the room. He carefully made his way around the open windows that were letting in moonlight. He carefully closed the windows till it was pitch black in his room, and crawled into bed.

Brim and Luminite didnt say anything as they stared down at the ground, deep in their thoughts. I sighed and said goodnight to them and left the building and went on my way back to The Rodent family house. I tiptoed past the rooms and up the stairs toward my room. I crawled into my bed and stared up at the ceiling. I couldnt fall asleep...


	13. Chapter 13: Brim's Story

**I apologize for not posting up another chapter. I have a lot of homework :P hope this makes up for it. Enjoy :)**

_Stump tossed and turned in bed until he couldnt take it anymore. He got up and walked out of the room he was staying in. He noticed Brim was still up. Luminite was too tired to stay up any longer and fell asleep. Brim turned her head when she heard Stump. She looked like she was crying. Stump felt his heart hurt, seeing her like this, and walked over to her where she sat. "Miss? are you all right?" he asked. Brim quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her white hand. "I-im fine...go back to sleep," she said. _

_Stump sighed. "I...can't," he said. Brim looked up at Stump, then narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?" she asked. Stump gave her a confused look. "Huh?" he asked. Brim got up from her chair and loomed over the short rabbit. "Who are you?" she asked again angrily. "Are you a good guy? a bad guy? are you here to help us? What are you?" she asked angrily. Luminite stirred from the noise but kept on sleeping. Brim huffed angrily and turned back to Stump. Stump felt his cheeks burn. "Uh...I'm...I'm..." Stump began to rack his brain, trying to find the right words._

_"Im...Stump...just Stump," he said, smiling nervously up at Brim. Brim's expression didnt change. She sighed angrily and began to hit the top of her head with her fists. "Ug! why am I so stupid!" she snarled angrily and sat back down on the chair, her back facing Stump. _

_Stump watched her as a huge knot began to form in his stomach. He watched as her arms slowly lowered and her shoulders began to tremble. Stump carefully walked over to her again. He lifted his arms, and gradually rested them on Brim's shoulders. _

_"Miss..." he said, but his voice faltered. Brim shrugged his hands off her shoulders. "Go away," she said, her shoulders trembling as she tried wiping the fresh tears coming down her face. Stump felt as if he got slapped in the face. _

_"P-please...miss..." he said again in his British accent. Brim didnt turn around. Stump finally lowered his head in hurt and shoved his hands into his pockets. Just as he did, he felt something. He opened his eyes and looked down. It was the scrap of cloth with Banshee's symbol on it. He stared at the symbol. He felt his stomach twist._

_Brim wiped her eyes again when she all the sudden felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She was about to say something, but noticed something flutter down and land on her lap. Banshee's symbol stared up at her. She looked at it for a minute, then turned her head. Stump stood next to her. He pointed to the symbol. _

_"That symbol, is the symbol of trust. It was used as a sign of rebellion against Bill...and Blor. It was the sign that showed that you could be trusted...Kinski was once a bad guy too, but proved to everyone that he could be trusted...all with the help of Banshee and her symbol..." explained Stump._

_Brim stared up at Stump for a minute. She was surprised. Was Stump deciding to go against Bill? Why? Brim looked down at the cloth. "Why are you doing this? Why are you deciding to go against your master and join the citizens of this town?" she asked. Stump didnt say anything. Brim looked back up at him. Stump stared down at his feet. _

_"...Because I met someone special...and I want her to like me back..." he muttered softly as his eyes gradually flickered up to Brim. Brim stared up at Stump with a confused expression on her face, then it became clear. Brim's eyes widened in shock. _

_He liked her._

_Brim got up from where she sat and stared down at the short rabbit in shock. Stump stared back up at her, blushing like crazy. Brim took a step away from Stump as if he grew three heads. Tears began to form again on her face. Stump began to regret admitting to Brim that he liked her and began to walk toward her. "Miss-?" he asked. Brim placed her hands over her mouth._

_ "No...no...I cant...I...cant..." she said as more tears came down. She quickly turned around and bolted toward the door. Stumps eyes widened as he began to chase after her. _

_"Wait! Brim!" he called. Brim opened the door and ran outside. Stump followed after her. Brim spread open her feathery wings and took off. Stump felt as if his heart was being crushed inside as he watched Brim fly off and landed onto the top of the clocktower of the town. Away from everyone...and away from him. Stump stared up at Brim as she sat on the top of the clocktower, her head buried in her arms. _

_Stump lowered his head, as he did, he noticed the scrap of cloth with the symbol on it. He narrowed his eyes. _Trust. What a joke! _he screamed in his head as he raised his foot and began to stomp on the shredded piece of material. He stomped on it a couple times, then began to walk away. Just as he did, he saw Luminite appear at the foot of the doorway from the house he was staying in. _

_"Stump," he said. Stump stopped and sighed angrily. "What do you want, you winged freak?" he snapped angrily. Luminite narrowed his eyes. "I wouldnt start off like that to impress the town if I were you," he said. Stump huffed angrily. "The town is stupid, they'd never trust me!" he snarled angrily as he began to walk away. _

_"If they could trust Kinski, they can trust you," said Luminite. Stump stopped again. He stared down at the ground. "Sure they can..." he said sarcastically. _

_-Stump always had a rough time, even when he was young. His parents didnt seem to like them. His multiple older siblings always made fun of him and treated him like dirt. He didnt belong anywhere. No one seemed to care for him...-_

_ Stump suddenly felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked up and noticed Luminite looming over him. __"Come on back inside," he said as he led Stump back in the house. Stump sighed and turned his head one last time toward where Brim was. Then he turned back and walked with Luminite back to the house. Right when they got to the door, Luminite faltered. Stump helped him up and half led, half dragged the Immortal inside._

_When Stump helped Luminite back into bed, Luminite told Stump to sit down at the chair. Stump obeyed and scooted the chair next to Luminite's bed. "Stump. You need to understand why Brim left," said the Immortal. Stump looked down at his hands in his lap. "It's because I'm short is it?" he asked. Luminite held in a laugh and shook his head. "No. She doesnt want to be with you because...she can't," Luminite explained. Stump narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked. _

_"She's an Immortal. Immortals cant get together with mortals, its against the law," the Immortal explained. Stump got up from his chair. "I'm half immortal!" he yelled. Luminite sighed and shook his head. "No, that doesnt count. You were brought back to life; and even so, you cant get with her..." Luminite's voice faltered. Stump glared at Luminite. "There's more. What happened to Brim?" Stump asked. Luminite didnt say anything. "Tell me!" yelled Stump. Luminite growled a low growl, shutting up Stump. _

_"You need to start understanding that I'm trying to help you, Stump," Luminite growled. Stump bared his messed up teeth._ You dont want to help me. You hate me, I can tell_, Stump thought, but didnt say anything. Luminite looked away from Stump. "On her first mission, she fell in love with a mortal. When she was fighting a couple demons in their mortal hosts, one of them stabbed her lover in the chest. She tried to heal him...but she couldnt...he bled to death in front of her. It was traumatizing for her to experience it, but it happened...just as the prophecy said..." said Luminite. He looked up at Stump's shocked face. _

_Luminite stared up at Stump and nodded. "If I were you, I would leave Brim alone," he said. Stump narrowed his eyes and looked away. He didnt know what to say. Stump looked up at Luminite. "Why do you want to help me?" he asked. Luminite didnt say anything as he reached out and touched Stump's shoulder. In his other hand, he held the scrap of cloth with Banshee's symbol. Stump's eyes widened. He didnt remember seeing Luminite pick it up. "How did you-?" "You care for your friends. You care for Brim. I see good in you. You wont believe me, but you'll figure it out...I have trust in you," he said. _

_Stump watched as Luminite turned the scrap of cloth over, letting it flutter into Stump's hands. Luminite smirked. "You picked up that scrap of cloth on purpose," said Luminite. Stump looked back up at the Immortal. He read his mind, back to when he picked up the scrap of cloth. Why did he though? Stump stared back down at the symbol on the piece of material. It gave him a feeling. A feeling that it would all be ok. A feeling that it will all work out in the end. _

_Stump looked back up at Luminite one last time. Luminite smiled a small smile before lowering his head against his pillow and fell fast asleep. His hand on Stump's shoulder went limp and flopped back down on the bed. Stump stared at the Immortal. He closed his fingers around the piece of cloth and got up from his chair. He walked over to the window and stared up at Brim, who still sat on the top of the clocktower... _


	14. Chapter 14: The Green Vials

_I found myself in the middle of Main street. I didnt seem to understand what was going on. All the other citizens were outside as well. The strange thing was, was that they were staring at me in fear. Just then, I noticed Kinski bolting right toward me. His eyes were wild and filled with hatred. I began to run, but found myself fall. I tried getting up, but felt too weak. Kinski came up to me and loomed over me. Drool seeped out of his sharp, clenched teeth. _

_He grabbed my neck and lifted me up to his eye leval. Fear flowed through me. __Kinski's creepy sneer turned upward into a grin. __"Poor Banshee, living in a vorld full of lies," he teased before ripping a shred of flesh off with his teeth-_

I woke up to the sound of screaming. I sat up bot upright and began gasping and heaving. I reached up with my wings and lightly touched my face and neck. I was ok. I blinked and realized I was in my room. My ears flicked to the sounds of the screaming. I turned my head to the window. My fuzzy brain cleared and I realized that it was Kinski screaming...again. I choked the tears away as I looked around the room. I gradually slowed my breathing and stayed awake. I have never had a horrible nightmare like that for a long time...not since the zombie nightmare...

I remembered back to that horrible time. Kinski, Stump, Bill, and Chorizo became zombies everytime when they went out into the moonlight... I shook the horrible thought away. I didnt want to think about that right now. I got up and looked out my window. It was still dark. I sighed as I rubbed my cold wings. A cool breeze. I scanned across the town until my eyes looked up to the clocktower where I saw Brim.

She looked upset.

I stared up at her dark silouette and beautiful white wings that seemed to glint in the remaining moonlight. I stared at her for a while till I couldnt feel the tips of my wings. I closed my window and walked back to my bed. I sat down on the thin, scratchy tan colored sheets and thought for a minute of my nightmare...Kinski...Brim...Blor...and the town...

I couldnt understand why I was having nightmares again... I wanted Kinski back in my wings, I missed him so much...I felt sorry for Brim and how she couldnt seem to get things right...Blor wanted the special metals from underneath the town, but why? and the town...the town was in the middle of it all. After all the pain and suffering, they seemed to get through it all...

I sighed and decided to go outside. I couldnt sleep. I grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around myself as I quietly walked down the steps toward the street. As I did, I thought Brim could try and fix Kinski's mind. I mean, it couldnt hurt just to try. Maybe she can do it, but doesnt realize it yet...but when I got outside, Brim was gone from the clocktower... I jumped when Kinski began to scream wildly from inside the small shop.

"Banshee? What are you doin' out 'ere?" asked a voice from behind me. I turned. Zombie Rango, Beans, and a couple members of the posse faced me. I sighed and pulled the blanket tighter around me. "I couldnt sleep," I said. Rango nodded his bacteria infested head. "Same here," he said and gestured behind him. Flies darted around his arm as he pointed.

There were other people up.

I noticed Priscilla and Ricochet sitting together, I noticed Roon, Burton, Gerald and a couple other market traders up. Mostly the whole town was up... because of Kinski's screaming moments.

They were scared.

My eyes gradually fell back to Rango. "Do you know where Brim went?" I asked. Rango nodded. Elgin just saw her go into Mr. Black's workshop," he said. I turned my head to Mr. Black's workshop.

"I could go get her for you if you want," Rango offered. I turned my head back and smiled. "Yes, that would be nice, thank you," I said politely. Rango smiled and tipped his decaying hat. With that, he walked right past me to Mr. Black's workshop to retrieve Brim. As he began to walk away, I could feel the town accumulating behind me.

* * *

_Before and After..._

_The moon began to gradually dip closer to the mountains where faint bits of sunlight were peeking out. Brim sat on the top of the clocktower. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she stared down at the citizens below. She could hear Kinski screaming and thrashing once more in the room he was chained up to. Brim felt her stomach turn and turned away. _I keep screwing up the more I stay here,_ she said in her head. She hugged her knees tightly and buried her head in her arms. _I wish I wasn't here...

_Suddenly, she heard a strange sound from below. At first she thought it was Kinski again, but Kinski had stopped for a moment. She lifted her head. Her blue eyes widened when she noticed the familiar black spider scuttle nervously over to his workshop. In his arms he held a wooden box. Brim stared down at him, then stood up and lifted her wings. _

_Silently, she soared over the road and toward Mr. Black. Her short grey coat fluttered around her in the cool breeze. She landed, her armor made a soft clinking sound. She watched as Mr. Black disappeared through the workshop. Brim looked up at the words on the top of the workshop. Mr. Black: Undertaker. Brim all the sudden felt a little nervous as she walked inside. _

_Brim's nose wrinkled a bit as a strange musty smell filled her sensitive senses. She looked around the somewhat fixed little shop of Mr. Black. Papers were strewn across the room. Bottles and science instruments lined up on the old, wooden tables and benches. Pictures of skeletons and bodies were pinned up on the walls. Jars of eyeballs, limbs, and fingers of all kinds of animals floated in the murkey yellow liquid. Brim cringed in disgust as she carefully walked over all the strange objects and tools. _

_Hammers, boards, buckets of nails and saws lined up on the other side of the wall as Brim looked around for Mr. Black. Suddenly, Mr Black appeared in front of her when her head was looking up at a strange sketch that looked like Stump as a undead creature. Brim screamed a small scream of surprise and placed her hand over her own mouth._

_Mr. Black stared up at Brim, his goggles twitched and focused. He still held the strange box in his arms. Brim took a deep breath and calmed down. She lowered her pale, white hand from her mouth. "H-hello Mr. Black," she said. Mr. Black didnt answer. Brim blushed in embarrassment and began to twiddle with her long white braid. _Oh, that's right, he can't speak,___ thought Brim as she stared back at the spider uncomfortably._ Mr. Black continued to stare up at her. Brim looked down at the box. 

_"What's in the box?" she asked. Mr. Black looked down at the box. He lifted the lid open and let her look. Inside were five small vials filled with strange green liquid. Brim stared at them with awe and wonder. She lifted her alabaster white hand to the vials. Mr. Black quickly closed the box and moved away before she could touch them. Mr. Black walked away and placed the box into the back room. Brim strained her head a bit, curious where he was putting the box of vials. When Mr. Black came back, __ Brim straightened up and took a deep breath again. _

_"I want to talk to you, if you arent busy," she said. Mr. Black didnt move for a minute. Then he moved away from Brim and walked nervously over to an old wooden bench full of tools. He carefully picked them up and placed them on his table. He cleaned off the wooden bench, then silently scooted it over to Brim. He patted the top of the bench, silently telling her to sit down. Brim sat down on the hard, bench. Mr Black stood in front of her and patiently waited for her to explain. _

_Brim shook her flattered feelings away and got down to business. She still wasnt sure how she was going to get any information out of the mute spider, but she was just going to have to figure it out one way or another. "Mr. Black," she started. Mr. Black nodded. Brim continued. "I know that I didn't introduce myself properly to you, and I apologize for that, but..." her voice faltered. She couldnt do this. She knew something bad was going to happen. She lowered her head a bit. Mr Black stared at her. _

_Gradually, he lifted his two front arms and grasped Brim's hands. Brim looked up. Mr. Black stared back at her, comforting her. Brim nodded a silent thanks. She took her hand out from Mr. Black's and brushed her white bangs out from her blue eyes. Then, she slowly lifted and lowered Mr. Black's arm with her other hand. _

_"My name is Brim," she said. Mr. Black smiled and gently shook her hand back while tipping his tall black hat in a gentlman manner. Brim smiled' her long white ears twitched a bit as they stood staight up. Brim continued on with her story._

_"I was told to come down here with my partner, Luminite, to stop Blor brfore he gets his hands on the ability to bring back the dead, and immortality. We were told that you have just dicovered those two things..." Her voice faltered again. Mr. Black's goggles twitched nervously, all the sudden feeling a bit uneasy. He removed his hands from Brim's and took a step back, as if she was about to kill him. Brim looked up at him, then she stood up. "You...you have violated a law...mortals should never be able to know the secret of immortality, or be able to bring back the dead...what you did is...forbidden."_

_Mr. Black stopped. His tensed up shoulders gradully slumped. He lowered his head in shame. He knew he did something wrong. From the moment he brought the gunslingers back to life...he knew he was in deep trouble. He was just curious to see if he could figure it out...and he succeeded. There was no turning back after he figured it out...but, it was too late. He was caught. _

_Mr. Black silently lifted his two front arms, in a gesture to say that Brim can handcuff him without any difficulty. Brim stared at the spider and looked down. Her ears drooped a bit. She all the sudden felt bad for what she just did. She didnt want Mr. Black to get punished. She had actually grown fond of the spider._

_Brim lifted her head up. She walked up to the steampunk themed spider and rested her hand on his shoulder. Mr. Black looked up at her from behind his goggles. Brim hesitated. "I...I dont want to arrest you...I just...I-" suddenly, a loud noise was heard outside. _

_Brim and Mr. Black turned their heads to the entrance of the shop. Rango appeared. Bits of dead, moldy skin rubbed off as he scraped up against the handmade wooden shelves in the shop. Brim and Mr. Black watched as Rango came into the room. He looked up at them with his sunken in dark eyes and tipped his dirty hat. _

_"Oh, hello. I'm sorry to interrupt, Banshee would like to speak to you, Brim," the zombie sheriff said. Brim hesitated. Mr. Black gently pushed her forward to go on. Brim turned back to Mr. Black. Mr. Black smiled warmly up at her. Gradually, Brim smiled back and nodded. _

_"It was nice talking to you, Mr. Black, I'll see you later," she said as she shook hands with him again. Mr. Black bowed, tipping his hat in the process. Brim left the spider and followed Rango out of the workshop. Brim couldnt help but wonder how someone so sweet and caring, could bring back the dead..._


	15. Chapter 15: Fragile Minds

Brim and Rango walked out of Mr. Black's workshop. I stood fifteen feet from it. Behind me was the posse, and a couple citizens of Dirt. Brim noticed all of us standing in front of her. "What's going on?" she asked. I silently pointed over to where Kinski was being held prison. It was silent. "We want to see if you can fix his mind," Buford answered for me. Brim seemed to turn even more white.

"...I...I can't..." she said. "How do you know that?" asked Beans. Brim looked away, "I...I just do," she said. "You are an Immortal, you should be able to," spoke up Burton from the back. Waffles smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah! You can! you can!" said Waffles excitedly.

Roon nodded. "Yeah, you can," she agreed. People began to talk at once behind me. The talk gradually faded away when Petunia came out and came up to Brim. She wrapped her arms around Brim's legs and looked up at the Immortal with a wide smile on her face. "You can do it Miss Angel!" she said excitedly, hugging Brim's legs. Brim looked down at Petunia, then her head lifted up and scanned all over our faces.

I took a couple steps forward to her. "We want him back...I...want him back..." I said, choking back my tears. Brim stared down at me. She looked over toward the house, then to me. Finally, she nodded and made her way to the house. The crowd parted as she walked in a straight line toward Kinski's prison.

She stopped at the door and turned back to us. We all turned and faced her. I came up to the front and stared at her. Brim scanned over all our faces before going inside. She closed the door behind her. Silence filled the air...

...

After a couple minutes, the crowd gradually began to part. Petunia, Beans, Roon, Burton, Rango, Priscilla and I stood in the middle of the dirt road. Petunia sat on the ground and began to draw pictures in the dirt. After a while, she began to get sleepy and fell asleep. Mr. and Mrs. Rodent came up and carried her back to the house to sleep.

I stood there, waiting for Brim to come out with Kinski. I wanted him to be ok, I wanted him back with me. I believed in Brim.

I couldnt hear anything inside. It was very quiet. I wanted to know what was going on in there. I took a step forward. A hand touched my shoulder, making me stop."Dont. Leave this to Brim," said Priscilla. I stared at the teen before sighing and turning back to the house. I felt tears come down my face.

Ricochet came up to us later on with a plate of food. "Here, you guys want somethin' to eat?" he asked. Rango smiled and grabbed an apple. "Much obliged my good man," he said and handed it to his wife. Beans thanked him and ate the apple.

Roon and Burton smiled as they accepted their own choice of food from the plate. "Thanks, boy," said Burton and bit down into the food. Roon nodded. "Thank you, Ricochet, you are very kind." Ricochet nodded with a smile on his face and handed them cups of water. He came up to Priscilla and handed her some food. Priscilla blushed and thanked him as well. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, which made Ricochet sway a bit in a daze with a huge goofy smile on his face.

He snapped out of his daze and walked over to me. "You want something to eat, Banshee?" the corkscrew armed grey rabbit asked me as he lifted the plate of food to my eyes. I stared down at the food. I didnt feel like eating. I politely shook my head. Ricochet lowered the plate from my face and shrugged. "Ok," he said and left.

I continued to stare at the house Brim and Kinski were in. I felt tears come down my face as I thought of Kinski. _Please be ok...please...please be ok..._I thought. A cool breeze began to blow through our clothes and hair as we stood there. The sun began to come up. Morning. My eyes felt heavy. _Please be ok...please...please be ok..._I thought...

...

_Inside..._

_Brim stood inside the dark room. She could see Kinski chained up on the other side. She felt her heart pounding loud in her chest as she quietly took a step forward. Kinski slowly lifted his head up. His tired eyes were hidden behind his bangs. He grinned. "Hallo..." he said in a cold voice. Brim stopped. "H-hello," she said. Kinski cracked his neck from side to side. When he was done, his eyes flickered up and down Brim's body. _

_"Vhas' a pretty girl like you doin' in ere vith a...person like me?" he asked in his German accent. Brim took a deep breath and exhaled. "Kinski, My name is Brim. I am the one who saved you from Bill's place... I am here to help you," she answered. Kinski snickered. "Help? you can't help me..." he said, flicking his bound wrists that were extended at his sides. The chains softly clinked against eachother as he stood there._

_Brim narrowed her eyes a bit. She took a step forward. "I can help you," she said. Kinski snorted and turned his head to the side. "Sure...newbie," he said. Kinski's words threw Brim off a bit. She stopped in her tracks and hesitated. Kinski turned his head back to her and snickered softly again. "Vhat? You dont think Blor told me?" he said. Brim narrowed her eyes again. _

_"I wouldnt believe everything Blor tells you, hunchback," she snarled. Brim's words made Kinski's playful grin disappear. "I vouldn't be sayin' things like zat aroun' me, girly," he snarled. Brim didnt flinch. "You cant hurt me, you just want to kill Banshee," she said. Right when she said that, Kinski went insane. The chains screamed loudly as they crashed against eachother. Kinski slashed the air with his claws._

_Brim calmly stared down at him. "You love Banshee-" "Lies!" interrupted Kinski and began to thrash. Brim didnt flinch as she watched him thrash and scream. He snapped and snarled angrily. _

_Gradually, he got tired and fell to his knees in exhaustion. His arms were high up over his head. Brim came up to Kinski and placed her hand on his forehead. She began to concentrate. Kinski moved his head away and snapped his teeth. Brim recoiled and rolled backwards. She ended back up on her feet. Her blades out and ready. Kinski's grin came back. "Scaredy cat," he teased. Brim narrowed her eyes. She slowly straightened up and placed her blades back in their scabbards. _

_Brim came up to Kinski. Kinski didnt flinch or anything. Brim went down to his eye leval. Kinski smirked without showing his teeth. "Vhy do you try anyvay; even though you cant?" he asked. Brim didnt show any emotions toward his question, but inside, she felt as if he got slapped in the face. "I want to help...I want to fix it before it gets out of hand," she finally ansered. Kinski still had the smirk on his face. _

_"You know you can't...Blor...he vill take over...jus' as ze prophecy says..." he answered. Brim blinked. "The prophecy?" she asked. Kinski snickered a bit. "Jes, ze prophecy...You know ze prophecy, Brim..." he said. Brim got up and moved away from Kinski. Her drooping white feathery wings faced him. Kinski snickered softly. "Jes...you don't believe in prophecies-" "Shut up!" snapped Brim as she turned around. _

_Kinski's smile disappeared. Brim's eyes glared down at Kinski. "You're mind is all messed up! Blor has taken over your mind! snap out of it Kinski!" she yelled. Kinski narrowed his eyes but didnt say anything. Brim sighed angrily. She was sick of Kinski. She couldn't save him. Tears ran down Brim's face. She turned back around and began to walk outside. _

_"I hate ze bat freak... but you loved Neo," said Kinski. Brim began to slow down, but then picked up her speed again and stormed toward the door. Kinski continued. __"You had ze chance to save Neo... Is all yer fault. You veren't able to save 'is sorry mortal ass!" yelled Kinski with a smirk on his face. Brim's anger leval began to rise, but she kept walking away. _

_"Is all yer fault! All yer fault!" Kinski yelled after her and began to laugh. The chains clinked against eachother loudly. Some parts of the chains actually gave away from the weak walls. Brim opened the door and slammed it behind her._


	16. Chapter 16: Blor Knows

**12/12/12! woo!**

* * *

I still continued to wait outside. Mostly everyone left. The sun began to make its way over the purple mountains in the distance. The sky began to lighten up a bit and show off a beautiful pale light blue. Every minute or so, I would take two or three steps to the shop and stop. My ears strained to hear the conversation going on inside, but it was too muffled.

By then, I was ten feet from the door. All the sudden, I see Stump approach me. "Morning, Stump," I say. Stump mumbles back and stops in front of me. His eyes were red as he rubbed them. He looked like he didnt have a good night's sleep. "How are you doing?" I asked. Stump didnt answer.

His eyes flickered over to me, then to the house I was facing. "Is she in there?" he asked in his British accent. I nodded, then rubbed my arms when it began to feel a bit chilly. Stump hesitated. I turned to him. "What's wrong?" I asked him. Stump lowered his hand and gave me a glare. "None of yer business!" he snapped. I narrowed my eyes and looked away.

_Fine, if he doesnt want to talk about it, thats allright with me. _Gradually, Stump relaxed his tense, scruffy shoulders and turned back to me. "Brim and I...talked last night...and..." his voice faltered. I turned my head to him. "You guys talked? What did you guys talk about?" I asked. Stump rubbed his red eyes again and looked down at the ground.

He lifted his head a bit, just so his eyes were peeking from under his hat. He looked around before turning back to me. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked. I nodded. Stump's yellow eyes stared back at mine, trying to read my face and choose whether to trust me or not. He finally gave in and motioned his hand for me to come down to his height. I bended my knees and went down to his eye leval. Stump cupped his dirty paws and began to whisper in my ear.

"I like Brim," he said. I turned my head to him. I couldnt help but smile. Stump didnt really like the look on my face and began to turn away. Turning a bit red in the face from embarassment. "I think that's really sweet," I said. Stump averted his face from me. "She cant be with me though..." he muttered. "What?" I asked, my smile fading away.

Stump stared down at the hard packed ground. "We cant be together. I'm _half_ _immortal_...and she's _immortal_..." his voice became a whisper as he began to go into his thoughts. I placed my wing on the short, stout jackrabbit's shoulder, which made him jump. His scruffy muzzle turned back to me. His eyes were wide a bit from surprise. I smiled a small smile. "Kinski and I got together, so can you two," I said.

Stump blinked in surprise. "R-really?" he asked. I nodded. Stump smiled a bit. He turned back to the door and took a deep breath. He hesitated for a second, then walked right up to the door.

Suddenly, Brim opened the door with a great force, which made the door slam against the wall. Stump jumped back and yelped in surprise. Brim's eyes were narrowed as she began to storm down the street. "Brim-" started Stump. "Shut up! Leave me alone!" she snapped. Stump opened his mouth, but then closed it. "Brim, wait," he called and began to run after her. Brim walked in long, angry strides as Stump tried keeping up with her by running with his stubby legs.

He reached out for her hand, but Brim flicked it away. "Brim," said Stump, heaving and getting out of breath. He finally caught up and grasped his hands with Brim's right hand, making the white immortal rabbit stop in her tracks. At lightning speed, Brim unsheathed her blade. As she did, she flicked out of Stump's grasp and shoved him to the ground. She got really close to him and pulled the blade right up to his throat.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed. Stump's eyes widened in horror. Brim bared her teeth for a minute. Her face flickered different emotions. Finally, she calmed down and realized what she was doing. She quickly moved away from Stump. "Oh no..." she said, her eyes wide. I jogged up to them. Brim looked down to Stump, who was still on the ground. "Stump...I-I'm really sorry," she said as she extended her hand out to him. Stump's eyes narrowed and he flicked her hand away and got up himself from the hard packed dirt ground.

I turned to Brim. "Brim? Are you ok?" I asked her. Brim's big, blue eyes were full of tears as she stared at Stump. "I-I'm sorry, Stump-I didnt mean-" "Stop!" snapped Stump. I narrowed my eyes at Stump and touched his shoulder. "Stump, she didnt mean-" Suddenly, Stump grabbed my wing and pulled me to him. He whipped out his gun and aimed it right at my face. "Shut it, freak!" he snarled. My eyes widened. All the sudden, one of the female citizens screamed and pointed right at us. Within seconds, everyone saw Stump aiming a gun at my face.

Stump's eyes shifted. He knew he was in deep trouble now, but he didnt care, he was going to get out of the town before the citizens had the chance to fill him full of lead. Stump pulled me in front of him as a shield and continued to aim the gun at my face. "No one moves! or the bat freak gets it!" yelled Stump angrily. Brim took a step forward. Stump pulled out his gun and shoved it up against my face.

"Dont you dare, or she goes," he snarled. Brim stopped dead in her tracks. "Stump, please-" she started. "Stop! I dont want to hear it! I know! I'm not good enough for you! No one hear likes me. I get it!" he screamed. Everyone's shoulders tensed up as Stump began to slowly walk with me backwards from them, toward the exit and entrance of the town.

My ears went back in fear. Suddenly, Kinski began screaming inside the house he was chained up in. Stump didnt seem to hear it as he shoved the nose of the gun deeper into my neck. Stump turned his head up to me. "If you git any bright ideas of screamin' at me, you'll be havin' to decide if yer screamin' is faster then my bullet," he snarled. I clamped my mouth shut. The townspeople didnt move as they watched us move away from them. I could still hear Kinski getting louder and louder. Suddenly, I could hear the chains rattling like crazy. The townspeople moved away from the house. They didnt know why Kinski was all the sudden acting so violent.

Stump was just ten feet away from the exit/entrance of the town, but still gripped my wing tightly. "I've alway hated this place," he muttered as we continued to slowly walk backwards from everyone.

Suddenly the hinges screamed as they were ripped away from the threshold. The door crashed to the hard packed ground. Roon, Beans, Priscilla Delilah and Brim screamed a startled scream as Kinski came bolting out. His wrists were still bound with the metal cuffs and a couple feet of chain. He turned his head to Stump and I and began to sprint toward us.

Stump's eyes widened in horror. "Oh shit!" he screamed and began to move backwards, still using me as his shield. Kinski didnt seem to slow down as he came bolting toward us. His hair was a tangled mess. His mouth was open a bit, revealing his sharp teeth. His fingers in a claw like manner. When he got to about fifteen feet, Stump shoved me forward toward the insane rabbit and bolted out of the town. I collapsed to the ground. My instincts kicked in as Kinski slowed his pace down and came closer to me. I curled up into a ball.

The chains brushed up against my back. I began to tremble in fear. He sniffed around me before grabbing me by the scruff of the neck and hoisting me up to his eye leval. He bared his teeth and growled a low growl. Gradually, the corners of his mouth lifted upward into a creepy grin. "Poor Banshee, living in a vorld full of lies..." My eyes widened in surprise. _Poor Banshee, living in a vorld full of lies... _My nightmare. I averted my eyes away from him. My feet barely touched the ground. Kinski bared his teeth and got ready to rip a chunk of flesh-

Suddenly, Kinski's head jerked backwards. Kinski screamed in pain at the sky and dropped me. I fell to the hard packed ground. Pain shot up my body, but I ignored it as I looked up. Brim had come up and hit Kinski. The posse quickly came up from behind Kinski and grabbed the ends of the chains. Kinski screamed and thrashed as he was pulled away from me. He jerked his head forward to me and snapped his teeth. I scooted away.

Kinski jerked and twisted some more till he was able to move a couple inches forward. The posse gritted their teeth as they held Kinski back. Brim took a step back and began to reach for her blade. Kinski forced himself to go down on all fours. His furry fingers touched something on the ground. My eyes trailed down his fingertips and I gasped. A gun. Stump's gun. He must have dropped it when he shoved me forward.

Kinski grabbed it before either me or Brim had the chance to. Kinski got up. He spun around and aimed the gun at the posse. Everyone screamed in horror and quickly dropped to the ground. Brim came up to him, but Kinski was too fast and bashed her head with the gun at a great force. Brim screamed and fell backwards. Within those split seconds of Brim falling backewards, Kinski aimed the gun and shot her in the stomach. Brim fell to the ground. Her wings went up and beganto flap violently. The posse quickly recoiled, thus dropping the chains. In a heartbeat, Kinski whipped back around and lunged toward me.

I felt myself fall backwards and land hard on the ground. Kinski sat on top of me. I felt the air escape my lungs from his weight. I kicked and tried flapping my wings, but it was not use. Kinski clamped his hand down on my neck, cutting off my circulation. I stared up at Kinski in horror. His mouth was curled up into a creepy grin. "Yer life is a lie. You dont know ze truth...you dont know yer past...Blor knows..." He raised the revolver and pulled the hammer back. I squeezed my eyes shut.

Suddenly, a loud gunshot was heard. I flinched, but didnt feel a bullet pierce through my skin. I opened my eyes, just as Kinski was turning his head toward the direction of the shot. At lightning speed, something smacked Kinski right off me. Kinski flew backwards a bit and tumbled away from me.

I sat bolt upright and gasped for air. The air filling up my lungs again. I coughed and spluttered for air. Brim got up from where she fell and carefully go up. Her stomach began to heal itself as she came up to me. The townspeople came to us, but stopped dead in their tracks when they were inches from me. They gasped. Brim stopped as well. Brim's eyes and the townspeople's eyes were wide with fear as they stared past me. I narrowed my eyes a bit in confusion and turned my head.

It was Jake.

Jake glared down at everyone. The townspeople and Brim took a step away from me. I stared up at Jake with fear. Jake's eyes flickered down at me. I shook a bit in fear, but managed to nod a silent thanks for saving me. He nodded his head back.

Then, Jake brought his coils forward. His coils unraveled, bringing forward Stump. Stump spinned out and collapsed next to me. He groaned, but then stopped. His eyes widened when he heard Jake hiss behind him and scrambled to his feet and hid behind me.

Jake loomed over everyone as they huddled together in fear. Jake narrowed his eyes. "Hmph, by the looks of it, I haven't missed a thing," he said.

* * *

** Forgot to mention that Kinski's gun was taken away before he was chained up and all that, thats why he grabbed Stump's gun; but its not that important. Hope you enjoyed :) **


	17. Chapter 17: Bringing Hell

**...h****ave to write a small note to thank my cool reviewers: To: Detouredbe for his/her wonderful comments :) Thank you Detour, you are the best reviewer ever! You are awesome! :) To:******** Adelilah for her wonderful comments as well. Your comments are awesome and make me feel happy inside! :) So thank you both, your guys comments are the best. :)Sorry its a little random, but you guys need some praise right now. Thank you again :) **

******To any other future commenters, I equally thank you :)**

**...**

Stump was taken down the street by Elgin, Spoons, and Waffles to the jail. Stump had his head lowered the whole time as he walked at gunpoint. Brim wanted to talk to him, but the posse wouldnt let her as they closed the door to Stump's cell. Stump layed down on the hard cot bed. His back faced the entrance of the cell.

Rango and his posse had a rough time with Kinski as they pulled him back to his prison by the chains. He thrashed and screamed as he tried getting away. He tripped and was slowly dragged back into the shop. Rango sighed as he watched Kinski until he was inside. He took off his worn, old bug infested hat, "We have to find a more stonger place to hold him," he sighed again. I felt responsible for Kinski's damage and looked down at the ground.

Kinski was chained back. This time they made sure he stayed. His deformity pressed up against the wall. His ankles were chained down to the ground. His arms were up a couple inches from his head and his wrists were bound and stuck to the wall. He gradually calmed down and lowered his head. His disheveled dirty blonde hair covered his face. I moved away from the window where I was watching from and walked down the street with tears falling down my face.

I looked up, just as Jake slithered up in front of me. My heart stopped and I looked up. Jake's eyes stared down at me. He flicked his forked tongue out. "Blor did this to him, is that right?" he asked. I looked down and nodded. I didnt want him to see me crying. Jake huffed and looked past me to the direction where Bill's lone hotel stood.

"I know Blor. He was a dirty bastard. Still is." Just then, Luminite came up to us. He still wasnt doing good, but he was able to walk. "Jake, may I have a word with you?" he asked. Jake nodded. I began to leave. Luminite's voice stopped me. "Banshee, if you dont mind, I would like you to join in our conversation," he said as he stared at me with his bright, gold flaked eyes. I turned around and slowly walked back. Luminite began to falter a bit, but I came up in time to help him.

"Let's go back to my place where I'm staying. We can talk there," he said, looking up at Jake. Jake nodded. With that, I helped Luminite back to the house where he was staying. Jake slithered right behind us.

We walked into the house and found Brim sitting on the bed. Her eyes were red as tears trickled down her face. She looked up at us and her eyes widened as she got up. "Oh, I-I'm sorry," she said. Luminite shook his head. "No, We should be the ones apoligizing," he said. Brim wiped away her tears and flexed her wings a bit. "I-I'll leave," she said and began to walk out the door. She stopped when she saw Jake. Her eyes widened as she slowly began to leave. She seemed nervous. Like as if she has never seen a demon like rattlesnake before...She was a newbie after all...but she was an immortal...

I pondered that for a while until Brim was gone. Jake stuck his huge head through the door about a couple feet and stopped. I helped Luminite back into bed and sat down into the chair next to the bed. Luminite looked up at the rattlesnake and sighed. "I would like to know, if you dont mind, why you have decided to join us at this time?" he asked. Jake flicked his dark colored tongue out and turned his head a bit to look out the window.

"I overheard something...when I came around Blor's hiding place...an army is coming today...they're going to try an' take over the town by force." Jake's words made my heart stop. "That doesnt give us a whole lot of time!" I said and got up from my chair. Luminite turned his white head to me. "Banshee, sit down," he said. I stopped. I couldnt really leave anyway, Jake's head was in the way. I sighed and sat back down.

Luminite turned back to Jake. "What time are they coming?" "At sundown," answered Jake. Luminite sighed. "Figures." I got up from where I sat again. "Well, we have to tell sheriff Rango, and the t-" "Banshee, sit down," said Luminite again. I stared at Luminite. Luminite sighed, "You cant tell them _yet_," he said. I sat back down. "Well, when are we?" I asked, starting to feel a bit impatient. Everyone needed to know. We had to warn them so then we could prepare to fight. Luminite seemed to read my mind and shook his head.

"I'm afraid it wont be that simple, Banshee. We're dealing with a horrible demon who is gaining more power as we speak." Jake narrowed his eyes. "If he gets to where he's unstoppable, how am I going to stop him then?" asked Jake bitterly. Luminite looked up at Jake and shrugged. "I dont know, but the prophecy-" "Screw the prophecy! I want to know how!" yelled Jake. Luminite closed his mouth, I flinched in my seat nervously. "M-maybe we could try and slow them down. We could get Rango and the posse to co out and shoot them, while everyone else evacuates-"

Jake didnt seem to like my idea and hissed. "You good people can't even shoot a _dead _person, even if it were layin' right in front of yer faces!" snarled Jake. I bared my teeth. "We could! We're fighting for our town! For our freedom, Jake! And if you want to help, start by supporting us!" I shouted. Luminte was about to say something, but Jake beat him to it. "I'm only here because I was told that I could stop Blor! I only want to stop Blor! not save yer asses! Now I see that this was all a big joke, I'm leaving!"

Jake began to leave. Luminite got out of bed. He faltered a bit. "Jake," he called. Jake stopped. He lowered his head a bit and cursed under his breath. He couldnt leave, or he would lose his immortality. Jake lowered his head back to us. "What is yer plan then, Lumi?! what do you think we can do to stop Blor?!" asked Jake angrily. Luminite hesitated.

Jake couldnt wait any longer for an answer. With that, Jake smacked Luminite with his head, causing the Immortal to crash into the wall. Luminite moaned in pain and collapsed to the ground. I began to turn into The Nightmare. "You bastard!" I yelled, but then, Jake squeezed right into the room and wrapped his coils around me. I flickered back to my normal size and struggled in Jake's grasp.

The commotion caused Kinski, whose, prison was right next door to our to where we were, started to scream and thrash wildly. The chains crashed against eachother. Jake snarled and turned his head. "Shut up you freak!" he yelled.

"Dont say that to him!" I yelled, but found myself seeing black spots in front of my eyes. Jake's flaming eyes glared down at me. A small smirk played on his face. "Oh, that's righ' you still like that freak, I forget," he said and a small chuckle escaped his lips. His small laughter faded away, and his face became bitter. "Git over the hunchback boy, he's not yers to deal with anyway. He's a lousy good fer nothin' pain in the ass!"

I snarled and lifted my eyes to him. "You dont know Kinski. He's changed since you last saw him!" I snarled. Jake snickered softly and slightly turned his head to where Kinski was screaming and thrashing from the other side of the wall. "Oh yeah, I can see that," he said. Jake turned his head back to me, this time, his eyes were cold and serious. I flinched in fear, but narrowed my eyes. "Since when do you care about who I'm with anyway?" I asked angrily.

Jake hissed. "Since the day gunslingers decided to become gunslingers and be in their own group, _away _from good people like you!" he snarled. "Why do you think us gunslingers rob? why do you think we kill people? because we dont belong in yer society. Because we're misunderstood! No one wants us! No one cares! so we go our own way!" he yelled. With that, he let go of me. I fell to the ground. Pain shot through my wings. I winced and slowly got up. Jake glared down at me.

I flinched in fear and took a step back. Jake sneered. "You and I. Citizens and Gunslingers. We're opposites. We never get along...now that I think of it, I think part of all this insanity, is all you and that hunchback's fault. You guys got together, you brought hell here. You two started this mess," Jake said bitterly. I felt tears come down my face. "No..." I said, but it came out in a whisper. Jake lifted his head over me and glared down at me.

"Jake," said Luminite. Jake's flaming eyes flickered over to Luminite. Luminite was seen getting up where he crashed. He rubbed his right arm and looked up at Jake. His huge, white feathery wings drooped behind Luminite's silver armored body.

"This whole thing has nothing to do with Banshee or Kinski. This problem is all Blor's doing," the white wolf said firmly. Jake growled a soft growl as his flaming eyes flickered back down to me, then back to Luminite. "They still shouldnt be together. Even so, it'll still cause trouble," he snarled.

I snarled. I began to grow bigger then my normal size into The Nightmare. I felt Luminite's hand. He looked up at me and shook his head. I sighed and controlled myself to calm down. Tears rolled down my face. Jake slowly lifted the front half of his body and loomed over us. "I'm goin' to take a rest, I'll be back at sundown," he said. With that, Jake began to slowly slither down the deserted dirt road.

Jake smacked his tail against the house Kinski was chained up in. His tail shattered the glass in the windows, and scared Kinski half to death. Kinski went quiet. Jake snickered and slithered away till he was gone. I wiped the tears from my eyes and walked out of the room. Luminite didnt stop me. I walked down the opposite way Jake went down. More tears came down my eyes from what Jake said to me.

Just then, Brim came up to me. Her white, feathery wings flapped a bit behind her. "What's wrong, Banshee?" she asked me. I wiped my tears away. "Nothing," I growled angrily. Brim led me over to a wooden porch and made me sit down. "You can tell me," she said. I sighed softly and looked down at my wings. I took a couple of deep breaths before telling the Immortal.

"Jake and I had a little fight," I said. I noticed Brim staring at me at the corner of my eyes with her huge blue eyes. "What did he say to upset you?" she asked. I wiped my wet eyes. "...He said that Kinski and I shouldnt be together because I'm a good person and Kinski's a gunslinger," I explained. Brim narrowed her eyes. "Who cares what that loser thinks," she said. I looked up at her. Brim continued, "Dont listen to that rattlesnake. I bet he's never had someone love him. You and Kinski should be together, even if you two are complete opposites."

Just then, Mr. Black passed by, he waved to us. Brim and I waved back. I looked over at Brim. She turned to me and smiled. "Mr. Black brought him back to life, that right?" she asked. My eyes widened in surprise. "How did you-?" "He brought Kinski back to life so you two could be together," she said, which made me blush. "

Even when Rango died. He brought Rango back to life for the town, and he brought Kinski back for you," she said with a small smile on her face.

I felt myself blushing more and looked down at my wings. I didnt realize. Mr. Black brought them back to life for us. I looked back up at Brim. Brim flinched when I wrapped my wings around her and hugged her. "Thank you, Brim," I said. Brim relaxed. She slowly lifted her arms and awkwardly hugged me back. "You're welcome," she said.


	18. Chapter 18: Hope and Forgiveness

I left Brim as I made my way to Rango. He was seen talking to Beans and a couple members of his posse: Wounded Bird, Waffles and Elgin. He turned his head and spotted me coming up to him. "Hey Banshee, what's up?" he asked me. I hesitated and turned my head to the building. I could see Luminite looking through the window. I narrowed my eyes a bit and turned back to Rango.

"Jake said that Bill is bringing an army over here at sundown," I said. The animals that stood before me, gasped. Their eyes went in horror. Beans turned to Rango. "What are we going to do? we need to take the children somewhere safe so they wont get hurt," said Beans. Rango nodded. "I know. Beans, you get the townswomen to handle the children," he told her. Beans nodded and began to walk away and head toward where the other townswomen were.

Rango turned to Waffles. "Waffles, round up the rest of the posse and the other men to asemble and bring as many weapons and-" "It wont be that easy..." I found myself saying outloud. Rango stopped and turned his head back to me. Waffles, Wounded Bird, and Elgin stared at me.

"What do you mean?" The zombie sheriff asked me. I stared back up at his dark, sunken in eyes. I felt a strange feeling in my body as I began to talk. "What I mean...is that nothing is going to work...we're against a demon that's growing powerful by the minute. I dont know if it will work, but we have a chance of failing." Somehow, I felt that those werent my words that were coming out of my mouth.

Elgin didnt seem to like the words that I didnt really have control over and stepped forward to me. "Dont say that! We have a chance to win!" He snarled and gripped his gun tightly in his hand. I felt myself sick to the stomach. Rango placed a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Elgin, she's just saying what she thinks. We actually might win this," he said. Elgin sneered. "She better start thinking that too," he snarled at me. I took a step back. With that, the black cat turned around and began to walk away.

Waffles and Wounded Bird looked back to me. "Do you really think we might not win?" asked Waffles nervously. I opened my mouth, but Rango stopped me. "We all know we're going to win this, we have to, we're the good guys," he said with a smile on his rotting face, which didnt seem warm or friendly, but we were used to it. Waffles smiled and nodded. "We're gonna win! Yeah! I'm gonna tell the others to get ready!" he said and left.

Wounded Bird sighed and looked at Rango, and then me. "Luminite doesn't seem to agree," he said, looking at me. Suddenly, I felt the strange feeling leave me. I touched my head as I stared at Wounded Bird. Wounded Bird didnt say anything and walked away. I blinked, then shook my head and sighed in frustration as I turned my head to where Luminite was looking out the window. He was gone. Luminite was starting to annoy me. I knew he meant well, but he needed to at least give us some hope.

Rango stared at me. "You ok?" he asked me. I nodded. "I am now," I said. Rango nodded and stared down at his decaying fingers. "I noticed Wounded Bird calmly staring at you when you were talking. At first I wasnt sure if he saw something...but then, I started to notice it as well," he said. I nodded. "Yeah, Luminute doesnt believe we're going to win," I said. Rango nodded. "I figured...he didnt seem like one to believe in hope," he said.

I just sighed. "Dont blame him for how he was trained. He just knows. He can't lie when he knows everyone is going to die...but why should he care? he's an immortal..." my voice faltered when I began to taste blood through my clenched teeth.

Rango touched my shoulder. I relaxed and looked up at the zombie. He smiled a small smile. "Hope is something he lacks...that's all," he said. I nodded and stared down at the ground. Rango patted my shoulder and removed his dark green rotting hand from my shoulder, leaving a stain on my shoulder. "Let's go and get everyone ready," he said. I nodded and we both began walking down the street to spread the news and get everyone ready for the battle.

..._Later on in the day..._

_Brim walked down the dusty dirt road to the jail. The sun had made its time up in the sky and was now making its way back down. The sunset gave off beautiful colors of reds, yellows and multiple shades of purple. Brim lifted her alabaster feathery wings a bit to keep from dragging as she thought of Stump. Brim began to slow down to a hesitation as she came right up to the jail. She felt horrible inside. Her sharp, white ears that stuck straight up, began to droop a bit. She turned her head and looked around. No one was really up at the time. She all the sudden began to feel nervous when she noticed Jake across the way. _

_She felt her heart stop when he turned his head to her. She quickly looked away and swiftly moved right into the jail and ducked her head a bit. The Immortal turned around and closed the door behind her and pressed her back against it. The white rabbit took a couple of deep breahs and closed her eyes in relief._

_Her ears went up as she heard the sounds of movement from one of the cells. She turned her head over to one of the cells and noticed Stump looking over at her. His dirty white muzzle twitched a bit. His yellow eyes narrowed and he sneered, revealing his crooked, rotten long teeth. He rolled back to his original position. His back faced her. Brim strightened up and she made her way to the small, cold cell. Dark colored hay, dirt, and dead, fist sized flies were seen scattered all along the ground._

_Brim flinched a bit in disgust as her slender, long white fingers curled around the rusty iron cell bars. Her face stopped inches away from the cell. "Stump," she said. Stump didnt move. "Go away," he said nonchalent like. Brim felt her heart sink in her chest as she stared at the back of Stump. "Stump...I'm sorry, I didnt mean to upset you. It's just that...I dont want you to experience what I went through...I dont want you to believe that we could be together...I thought the same way for Neo...but..." her voice faltered. The short jackrabbit shifted a bit. Brim gradually lowered her head. Staring down at a dead fly. She felt her throat close up and tears began to fill up in her eyes. _

_She noticed Stump finally shift himself and turn his head to her. The white Immortal rabbit continued to look down at the ground. A couple tears left her eyes and rolled down her face. The short outlaw sat up and turned to fully face her. "Brim," he said. Brim still couldnt look up. She began to tremble and stagger a bit as more tears rolled down her face. Her right hand came up to her mouth and covered it as she made little gasps and crying sounds. Stump felt his stomach twist, making him stand up from the small, chained up cot bed. _

_Brim couldnt hold up much longer and slowly began to fall to her knees as she thought of Neo. Stump stared at her, but Brim didnt seem to notice. She had hit a soft spot on herself. She knew it was her fault for reminding herself, but she couldnt help it. She had broken the rules, she had fallen in love with a mortal, and now, he was gone, which eternally scarred her for life. _

_Suddenly, Brim felt a pair of dirty, furry hands touch the sides of her pure white face. She blinked and felt her face being lifted up a bit by the hands. Forcing to look up at the owner of the hands. Stump. Stump stared back at her with his yellw tinted, strange colored eyes. His mouth was set and was barely seen by his wiry dirty white muzzle. His long teeth were out. Brim studied all the features on his strange face. He blinked and sighed. His dark colored nose twitched as he stared back at her. His hands continued to hold the sides of her white face through the rusty bars. _

_Brim gradually lifted up one of her hands and rested it on top of his. He blinked again and stared down at her hand. He felt a wave of heat hit him as he felt her hand touch his. He looked back at her wet face. More fresh salty tears began to form. Stump slowly moved his hand over to her huge, beautiful eyes and lightly ran his thumb across her left eye, brushing away her tears. His fingers shifted a bit behind her soft, white neck., interlacing through her short pure blonde hair. _

_Stump wetted his lips with his pink tongue as he gazed at Brim's sky blue eyes. "I...I know I can't be with you...but it wont stop me...from loving you," he finally said. Brim felt her heart beat loudly in her chest as she stared at Stump. Stump carefully brought her head closer to the bars to where they were barely touching. He brought his head closer to hers. Their forheads brushed up against each other. Her sharp whiskers tickled against his wiry, wild ones. _

_Brim stared at Stump. She all the sudden began to blush. She felt strange feelings growing inside her for Stump. Stump began to move his head closer to Brim. Brim felt her head move closer and she found herself closing her eyes and leaning forward to kiss him, their lips barely touched, when all the sudden, the jail door crashed open. Stump and Brim quickly opened their eyes and moved their heads away from each other. _

_Brim quickly got up and turned her whole body to the door. Stump removed his hands from her and the bars and sat on the ground. They saw Rango, Mr. Furgus, Ambrose, Elgin, and Buford enter into the room. They all held a certain type of weapon. "Brim! there you are," said Rango happily. "We'ves been lookin' all over fer ya," said Mr. Furgus. Brim felt herself blushing and her wings drooped a bit. "Sorry," she said. Buford waved off her apology. _

_"Its ok, Miss Brim, you dont have to apologize," he said. Elgin snarled. "What are you doin' 'ere? yer supposed to be helpin' us git ready for Blor and his army!" he snarled, then glared at Stump. Stump gave Elgin a look then spat the ground. Rango lifted his hand. "Elgin, dont get angry at Brim. The good thing, is that we found her, and that's all we need," he said and turned back to Brim. Brim smiled a small smile._

_"Then, let's get going. After you, Miss Brim," said Ambrose politely as he took a step to the side and gestured for her to go first in a gentleman way. Brim took a step forward, she took one quick glance at Stump one last time before leaving the jail. Stump got up from the cell floor and watched as the girl of his dreams left with the zombie sheriff and a couple members of his misfit posse. _

_Stump sighed and walked over to the cot bed and sat down at it. He stared at the scratched glass window across from his cell and watched Brim till she was out of his perspective. The sun gave off the last of it's rays and was swallowed up by the dark purple mountains in the distance... _


	19. Chapter 19: Battle

We all stood at the entrance and exit of the town. Weapons at ready, and torches blazing in the cold darkness as we waited nervously for Blor's mortal army to arrive. I turned, just as Brim came up next to me. She looked nervous. "Are you ok?" I asked her. Brim looked up at me. "Huh? oh...yeah, yeah I'm fine," she siad. Then I saw her turn her head over to the jail. I looked at her, then looked away when she turned back. I turned over to where Kinski was being held. He was quiet...for now. I choked back the tears when I thought of him and turned back to face the front of the town. We waited.

Another cold breeze sliced through us. Jake stood behind all of us, making it harder for everyone else to watch for the army. Beans and a couple of the other townswomen had taken all the children to Beans place, which was a small farm a good distance away from the town. I never knew Beans lived on a farm, I always thought she lived somewhere in the town. I've never seen her leave to go back to her farm. I decided not to worry about it and faced the front again. Luminite stood on the other side of me. His face was stern and his gold colored eyes seemed to glow. The torches flickered in the winds.

Ten minutes have passed. Everyone was getting very nervous. The sun was completely gone. We couldnt see anything. The moon was covered by a couple of clouds, almost leaving us in complete darkness. I shuddered in the cold and rubbed my wings. Suddenly, I saw movement. My eyes widened and I frantaiclly searched. It was gone. I sighed and rubbed my head. Just my imagination. I didnt have any sleep for a couple days, now I was seeing things. Suddenly, a strange feeling went over me. I groaned softly and rubbed my head. Priscilla and Ricochet came up to me. "Banshee? Are you ok?" Priscilla asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, but continued to rub my head. The two teens exchanged glances before turning back to me. "Maybe you need to sit down, you dont look like yer doin' good," answered Ricochet. I shook my head and removed my wing from my forehead. "No, I'm fine." Just then, Gerald, the old market trader came up and offered me some food. "You need food. You have not eat. Eat," he said and handed me a plate of fruit. I shook my head, but felt my legs give up on supporting me and I felt myself collapse.

Ricochet and Priscilla quickly grabbed my wings before I fell completely to the ground. Priscilla thanked Gerald for the food and accepted it. "Thank you Gerald, we'll make sure she eats," said Priscilla with a smile. Then, Ricochet and Priscilla carried me by the wings through the crowd of nervous townspeople, awaiting the army. Ricochet took me from Priscilla and carried me in his arms. I was surprised to see how strong he was as he easily carried me over to a handmade wooden bench and carefully set me down.

"There you go," he said with a smile. He was careful not to stab me with his corkscrew arm and moved out of the way for Priscilla to feed me the fruit. I slowly sat upright and accepted the plate and ate. Waffles, Roon and Burton came up to me to see how I was doing. "Are you ok, Miss Banshee?" asked Waffles nervously. I nodded and continued to eat. I didnt realize how hungry I was. Roon and Burton stared down at me. "I'm glad to see you eating again, you made me very nervous when you didnt accept to eat," said Roon. I looked up at her, then slowly turned my head to were Kinski was being held prison.

I all the sudden didnt want to eat, but my friends made me continue eating. Burton patted my shoulder. "Dont worry. You shouldnt be worrying about him now. He'll be fine. Just worry about yourself," he said. I sighed and finished the apple I was munching on, then placed the core down on the plate and helped myself to some grapes. Priscilla turned to Roon, Burton, and Waffles. "How are you guys doing?" she asked. Roon sighed. "Doing fine, I should've went with the other women and the children, but I decided to stay with the rest to feed the men who are waiting for the battle to begin," she said. Burton nodded as he lifted his weapon.

"I'm ready to fight those bastards, but I dont know why...but I'm getting this horrible feeling..." he faltered. He turned around and found Jake looming right behind him. Perfect timing. Burton yelped and moved out of the way. Waffles gripped Roons green dress tightly and stood behind her as he stared up at the snake in fear. Roon took a step back. The female fennec fox stopped when she almost tripped over Waffles. Burton took a couple steps backwards. His rifle shook in his hands.

Priscilla and Ricochet held hands and stood by me nervously as they stared up at the snake, who unexpectedly arrived where we were talking. I was the only one glaring at him. Jake ignored my glare. He turned to Roon, Waffles and Burton. "Git back to yer spot!" he snarled. Burton held Roon by the shoulders and led her away with him. Waffles followed. Doing what the snake was telling them.

Jake eyed down at Priscilla and Ricochet. Without being told, they left. Jake noticed me still glaring at him. He eyed the half eaten plate in my wings. He lowered his head. He flicked his tongue out and helped himself to a piece of fruit. Licking it up and eating it in one gulp. I didnt flinch and still held the plate in my wings. In swift movements, I extended the plate to the side and placed it away from me. I didnt want to eat after that.

Jake couldnt help but laugh a cold laugh. "You still angry at me?" he asked. I crossed my wings over my chest. I didnt say anything. My gesture was enough to answer his stupid question. Jake grunted. "I see," he said. He turned his head to the front of the town to see if anyone was coming. Nothing. I was starting to think that they werent coming. I actually hoped they did, I didnt want to talk to Jake right now. I was so close to think of just ripping his throat out with my teeth.

Jake turned back to me with his eyes flaming and flickering like real fire. I bared my fangs. He did the same in a mock gesture. He laughed. He enjoyed seeing me suffer. He enjoyed my anger toward him. I averted my narrowed eyes from him. I wished he would stop it. Just then, Brim and Luminite came up. Brim hid behind Luminite as Luminite helped himself over and stood between Jake and us. He held a sterdy branch as a staff to support him and help him walk. Brim's wings were pressed up against her back, while Luminites wings were up over his head as he held his staff in his paws.

The white wolf glared up at Jake, which made Jake stop. "Jake, go back to your place, they'll be here any minute," he said. Jake bared his fangs again, but this time, in a threatening way. Brim averted her eyes from him. Suddenly, Jake heard something behind him. He turned to face the front of the town. Everyone who was already facing the entrance and exit of the town started to shift uncomfortably. Something was coming. Luminite and Brim turned their heads. They sniffed the air. Something was wrong. Suddenly, the torches that lit up the town, all the sudden blew out.

The townspeople, with their backs facing us from a good distance, began to freak out and talk amongst themselves. Leaving us in complete darkness. "Wh-what's goin' on, sheriff?" asked Mr. Furgus from the voices. Before Rango could answer, the sound of a thousand roadrunners galloping toward the town was heard. Everyone began to pull out their matches to light up their torches again, but it was too late. The army rode right into the blind town and began to kill. Screams and shouts were heard in the darkness. Blind gunshots were heard. I ducked instinctively so I wouldnt get shot.

I heard Luminite yell to Brim in the darkness. "Find everyone and get them to somewhere safe!" he yelled. A match was struck and a torch blazed to life, illuminating Luminite and Brim's faces. Brim took the torch and soared away. Luminute brought another torch to life and looked up at Jake. "Help me light a couple houses on fire," he said. "With pleasure," said Jake as he took the torch from Luminite's hand with his tail and began to go along a couple unoccupied houses and lit them up. The battlescene was lit up, and the townspeople could see and attack their opponents.

Blood and bodies already littered the ground after that blind attack. I got up and turned into the Nightmare and ran on all fours to help my friends. I screamed at a couple of uniformed soldiers, which sent them flying backwards and crashing into the burning buildings that Jake and Luminite had started up. They screamed and twisted in agony until they collapsed to the ground, black and lifeless. A couple of soldiers who were still riding roadrunners felt themselves falling foreward and crashing to the ground. Dirt and blood was flying everywhere. Gunshots were heard throughout the town.

I watched a couple townspeople shoot down a couple soldiers and bash them upside the heads with the ends of their rifles, pitchforks, or sticks. I quickly turned around when I felt a couple bullets pierce through my wings from Bill's army. I screamed at them, then swiped a couple away from a couple market traders. Wherever I looked, everyone was being killed, right and left. I watched as Roon was stabbed in the chest in a blade by one of the army members. "No!" I screamed and made my way to her. The soldier saw me and began to fire at my face. I reared back and shook my head wildly.

Roon collapsed to the ground in pain. I tried to see, but pain shot through my face. Suddenly I felt a couple ropes go around me, making me collapse. It was a surprise attack. A couple soldiers jumped on top of me, making it harder to move. I screamed and snapped the air, but it was no use. The first soldier came up to me and raised his gun to my forehead.

Suddenly, Jake's head appeared in front of me. He opened his mouth and swallowed the soldier whole. My eyes widened in horror. Jake revealed his fangs and hissed at the soldiers on top of me. They screamed in horror and got off me and bolted down the street, screaming. I shook the loose ropes from my shoulders and looked up at Jake. Jake smirked. "You still angry at me?" he asked. I snarled and screeched a small screech at his face. It made him go back a bit, but he didnt care. I moved away from him and continued to help my town.

I looked down at Roon. Doc was already treating her wound. Doc looked up at me when he saw me. "She's losing a lot of blood, but she'll be fine," he said. Burton came running up from behind me and landed on his knees next to Roon. "Roon! Roon! oh my gosh..." he said as he stared at the bloddy blade that sat next to the female fox's body. Doc patted his shoulder. "She'll be fine, Mr. Burton. She just needs to be taken away from here and to my office...which is now on fire," he said as he turned his head and just realized that the buildings were on fire.

He turned back to Burton. "Let's just take her away from this battle." Burton nodded. With that, he picked the limp Roon up and followed the white, one eared rabbit down the street to somewhere safe. I turned and noticed a couple other surviving townspeople helping wounded citizens out and carrying them away from the battle. I noticed Wounded Bird fighting with two people and decided to help him.

Wounded Bird had his wooden crutch in his black wings and was holding it at a horizontal angle as the other two held it as well and were trying to take it from him so he would stop hitting them with it. Bird seemed to know when I was about to scream and ducked his head. The two animals were sent flying and crashed into a group of enemies. Wounded Bird turned his head to me and silently nodded his heasd to me as a silent thanks.

Suddenly, his brown eyes narrowed and he turned his head. I looked up and began to growl. Bill just arrived at the bloody massacre. He slowed his roadrunner down to the front of the entrance and stopped. He jumped off and gazed at the horror that layed before him with pleasure. He eyed me and grinned. I snarled and charged on all fours toward him. I stopped when I felt my wings give up on me and collapsed to the ground.

I screeched in pain. I didnt realize I had so many bullets in my massive wings and began to jolt in the dusty road. Running blood striped my wings. I turned my head to see Bill's army of soldiers gang up on me and aim their guns at my face. I turned my head slightly to see the remaining townspeople drop their guns and hold up their arms. We were outnumbered.

I noticed Doc and Burton coming back down the street toward us. Burton still carried Roon in his arms. Behind them, was three guys with rifles pointed at their backs. The fires on the buildings had died away. Brim, Luminite, and Jake were already being pinned down and knocked out. In a blink of an eye, the battle was over.

When everyone was all assembled together, Bill pointed to the jail, which didnt get burned down. "Put the mortals in the jail, and the special Immortals in the building next door," he ordered. The soldiers obeyed. "No!" screamed Elgin as he fought with the soldiers that held him.

"No! We cant lose! We have to win! We-!" A soldier smacked him upside the head with his own gun. Elgin yelped in pain, but then went limp and the soldiers hauled him into the jail. The townspeople watched the poor, limp black cat, then lowered their heads in sadness. Elgin was the only one who was 100% sure that they were going to win...but now...it didnt seem like that, it was going to happen. Luminite was right...

I turned back to my normal form. The group of soldiers grabbed my arms and aimed their guns at my face, waiting for the command to shoot me. Bill came up to me. I bared my teeth. He smirked and calmly pulled out a bullet from one of my wings, making me flinch in pain. He tossed the bullet over his shoulder.

"Hello again, Miss Banshee," he said. I snarled. Bill just patted the top of my head, which made me try to move forward and bite his hand. Bill flinched his hand away. He narrowed his eyes at me, then looked up at the soldiers that held me. "Put 'er in wit' the others," he said. I screamed at Bill, causing him to fly backwards. Just then, something struck me upside the head and everything went black...


	20. Chapter 20: Anera

I woke up when I felt my wings give off a jolt of pain. I sat bolt upright and groaned. "There, thats the last of 'em," I heard a voice say. I blinked and looked around. I was in the jail, surrounded my all the remaining townspeople. I noticed everyone either staring back at me, or looking away with sadness in their eyes. Rango and Doc loomed over me. "You ok there, Banshee?" asked the zombie sheriff. I rubbed my head.

"How long was I out?" I asked. Rango shrugged. "I dunno, an hour? you were dragged in all bleeding. A couple of us began to help pull all the bullets out," he answered. Doc showed the last bullet he pulled out of me and placed it down on the counter next to him. "Surprised to see you awake righ' now," the one eared rabbit said. "Usually when someone has been nicked by bullets, they're usually knocked out for days," he said. I rubbed my shoulder and got up. "Im used to it," I said.

I looked ahead at everyone else. Everyone was all bunched up together, trying to keep warm from the cold. Outside were a couple soldiers. I looked at the cells and realized that Stump was still isolated in his own cell. He was fast asleep. I guess nothing wakes him up, even if a battle is right outside his cell. "Banshee," said a voice behind me. I turned. Gerald and Burton came up to me. They helped Roon walk across the room. Her chest was bandaged up. I gasped and ran up to Roon.

"Roon," I said and stopped in front of her. Roon held her stomach. I carfefully hugged her. "I thought you were going to die," I said. Roon moved away from me and shook her head. "Nah, I can survive a knife," she said smiling, which made Burton feel uneasy. "Roon, maybe you should sit down," he said. Roon smiled up at Burton, making him blush. "I'm fine, Burton," she said. Burton looked down and silently nodded.

Gerald noticed this. He couldnt help but smile, but his smile disappeared when he turned to me. "Banshee, you need to know," he said. I turned to Roon and Gerald. "What?" I asked. Roon turned her head to the window. "They've taken over the town..." she said. I looked out to the window. Outside, soldiers marched and were seen at eavery corner of every building in the town, searching for any citizens that were around or have thought of escaping. Roon shook her head. "That's not the worst of it, they have Mr. Black," she said. My eyes widened. Oh no.

Just then, Ricochet and Priscilla came up to us. "We just overheard the soldiers on this side of the jail. They've captured the townswomen and the children," said Priscilla. Rango heard Priscilla and came up to us. "What?! Are they ok? Are they hurt? What about Beans? Is she ok?" asked Rango in a rapid pace. Gerald calmed Rango down. "They fine, they just bringing them in," he said and pointed to behind the sheriff. We all turned and saw Beans and the townswomen come in, as well as the children. Rango embraced Beans and kissed her multiple times. "Oh Beans! I thought I lost you," he said. Beans hugged her husband.

Parents came to the front and hugged their kids. Petunia and Stub hugged their parents. A couple kids cried when they were told that their parents didnt make it. It made me cry to see them like this as the kids hugged their uncles or aunts or the townswomen who took care of them and knew them. Suddenly, the door unlocked and swung open. Two soldiers came in and searched the place. They were glared at by the townspeople, but stayed away when they saw their guns. They stopped searching when they found the person they were looking for. One of them pointed ot me. "You, come," he said. I didnt move. The soldiers noticed this and cocked their guns. "_Now," _said the other. I didnt move. "Go, Banshee," said a couple townspeople nervously. I turned to them. They were all looking at me. They were afraid.

I turned my head back to the soldiers. They waited impatiently for me to come with them. I sighed. I finally got up. They aimed their guns at my face and gripped my wings tightly as I was led outside. The soldiers locked the door to the jail and walked down the street. More soldiers followed us, making sure I didnt do anything clever. I didnt.

We made our way down the street, then approached the building I heard was once the old Mayors place. Two soldiers stood in front of the door, guarding it. "Bill wants to see her," one of them said. The guards nodded and let us in. The two soldiers that retrieved me shoved me in and closed the door behind them. I sighed and turned my head. In front of me, in the darkness, were stairs. I hesitated.

"Come in, Banshee," said Bill's voice above the stairs. I looked up. Bill stood at the top of the stairs, holding a lanturn. The light illuminated his face. He grinned at me. I narrowed my eyes, but sighed and did as I was told. I walked up the stairs up to Bill. The room I walked into was huge. Inside it was dark, but I was still able to somewhat see inside. The wooden floorboards squeaked as I walked. The colorful, stained glass windows lined up on the huge lined up on either side of me. Down about thirty feet from where I was, was a huge mirror. Bill stood twenty from it to my left. I stopped a good distance from the mirror. I narrowed my eyes at Bill in the darkness. Bill seemed to grin.

Suddenly, a strange sound was heard. It sounded like whispering. It was whispy, and cold. Then it stopped. I flinched when the whispering came back. Bill grinned evilly at me. "Blor would like to talk to ya, girly," he said. I narrowed my eyes back at Bill when the strange sound stopped. "Fine, let me speak to Blor," I said. Bill continued grinning. The whispering came back, only it was stronger, and I could hear it: _Let her see me...go to the mirror. _The voice was cold, and sent shivers down my spine.

Bill walked over to the huge thirty foot tall mirror at the end of the room. Bill faced the mirror, his back to me. Instead of seeing Bill's reflection, I saw A different creature. My eyes widened in horror. The creepy reflection was as big as the mirror. It stretched all the way to the top and glared down at me with four sets of yellow, black slitted eyes...just like mine. Its' black, fleshy wings were wrapped around its huge torso, narrowing down to where It's feet were supposed to be. The fleshy webbed wings shined in the little bits of moonlight from one of the stained glass windows. Multiple horns twisted out from the top of the elongated head of the demon. Blor. I took a step back in fear. I didnt realize he was that big.

Blor's enormous reflection smirked, revealing a row of thin, needle- like teeth. _"Hello...Banshee,"_ he said. His voice was still like a cold whisper. I rubbed my shoulders nervously. I didnt say anything. Blor stared down at me with his four yellow demon eyes. His elongated black, fleshy face twitched a bit. _"Don't be afraid, Banshee, you shouldnt be afraid,"_ as he said that, his mouth curled up into a grin, revealing more of his needle teeth.

I flinched, but held my ground. I noticed something flicker next to Blor's head, then realized that they were his ears. _"I can feel sssomething disturbing you, child..."_ Blor said. I blinked, then realized that he could read my thoughts. He had the power to know... Is that how Bill knew? I quickly pushed the thoughts away before Blor read them. "...I...I was told... th-that you know something about my unknown past," I said. Blor smirked in the mirror.

_"Yesss...child...I know where you come from... I even know why you have those eyesss."_ Blor said in his soft voice. I ignored the chills. My eyes widened. "Y-you do?" I asked. Blor's reflection nodded. _"You dont remember, of courssse... Your memoriesss were destroyed while I was experimenting on you...oh dear, I sssaid too much,"_ teased Blor. I gasped. "Experimented on me? What are you talking about?" I asked. The creepy monster reflection grinned a row of sharp, jagged needle teeth again.

_"I was curiousss at the time. Curiousss about mortalsss... and how they worked. How most demonsss had to have mortalsss... as hostss to enter your world... I decided to test that out. Our master wasss the only one who knew how to usse the dark magic, but I experimented...You are one of the mortal creaturess...that I worked with...to see if I could make demonss go into thiss world,"_ Blor explained. His hissing started to get on my nerves. Blor's creepy smile didn't chance. I just stood there.

"I...I still dont understand...I'm an experiment?" I asked. Blor nodded. _"One of the _successful_ living experimentss. I killed over a million mortalsss,"_ Blor chuckled. I felt like throwing up. I was part demon. Blor continued, interrupting my thoughts. _"That'ss why you have that scream ability, a working ability. You are my creation...my daughter,"_ he said.

I felt my legs turn to jelly, I staggered, but regained my balance. "N-no...no!" I screamed. Blor smirked in the mirror. _"I am your creator-"_ "No!" I shouted. Blor simply laughed. _"You should be happy, I have given you a gift! Unlike your old parentss-"_ "My parents? What did you do to them?!" I screamed. Blor simply smirked. He enjoyed seeing me angry.

_"I did what wass needed to be done... Oh, you should've seen the determined lookss on their facess. They refused to_ _give you up to me. So, I killed them_," he said in his whispering voice, then laughed a cold laugh. I took a step back in fear. Blor noticed this and stared down at me. _"They even called out your name..."_ he added. My eyes widened. Blor's grin widened. Then he pretended to think. _"Oh, what wasss the name...its on the tip of my tongue..."_ he said, as his long, dark purple forked toungue snaked out, then was slurped back in. I could hear my heart beating fast. My unkown past life was being unraveled before me. It was all too much to take in.

Finally, Blor turned to me. _"Oh, thats right...Anera,"_ he said. I felt my heart stop. "Anera," I whispered. Tears came down my face. I could hear Bill snickering as his back faced me. I narrowed my eyes, but noticed Blor still staring at me and looked up. _"Yess...Anera, that was the lassst thing they sssaid...before I killed them_," Blor began to laugh his cold dark laugh. I screamed at the mirror, causing it to shatter. The pieces began to fall. I could hear Blor's evil laughter echoing in the room till it faded away. Anger coursed through me as I turned into The Nightmare.

Bill was able to move out of the way from the falling glass...but not from me. I lunged at Bill and loomed over him. "You bastard!" I screamed, but it came out as a high pitch screech as I bared my teeth. Bill laughed evilly.

"Life's never fair, girly, you might as well get over it. You never knew-" I pressed my wing down on his neck, cutting off his circulation. Bill squirmed and kicked for air. I watched Bill struggle helplessly. I wanted him to die. Suddenly, I felt a couple bullets dig deep into my flesh. I screeched in pain and reared up. Bill scrambled to his feet and moved away from me.

Chains were thrown over me. Pinning me down. I struggled, but it was no use. There were too many guards to handle. More chains went over and bit deep into my flesh. I changed back into my normal form as the guards surrounded me. Bill walked up to me and rested a clawed hand on the side of my face. I stiffened as I stared up at him with wide eyes. Bill grinned evilly. "You lost, Blor has won. Get over it," he said, then moved his hand from my face. Bill narrowed his eyes to the guards who held me.

"Take her below to the mines," he said. The guards started to carry me away. Suddenly, I heard the strange whispering again. "Wait," said Bill, lifting up his hand, listening to the whispering voice in his head. The guards turned. Bill lowered his hand. He gave me a creepy grin. "I change my mind... Go put 'er in with her boyfriend," he said. My eyes widened in horror as the guards silently took me away...


	21. Chapter 21: Fight in Shafts of Moonlight

I struggled and tried getting out of the soldiers' grip, but their hands were clamped down on my wings. My mouth was gagged so I wasnt able to scream, and I was in too much pain to turn into The Nightmare. It was hopeless. We all walked down Main street. We were getting close to the jail. My eyes widened as I watched all the citizens and market traders walk out single file from the jail, accompanied by guards, toward the old mines that were under the town. A couple turned to me, thus slowing their pace down. Even in the darkness of the night, I could still see their shadowed faces. Their faces full of fear. "Banshee," they'd whisper.

"Move it!" yelled one of Blor's men as he hit one of the posse members with the butt of his gun. I fought to help them, but I was pulled away and forced to keep walking down the street. I passed by the building I knew where Luminite, Brim and Jake were being held captive. Four guards stood in front of the door. I couldnt see inside, but I was sure they were still knocked out.

Finally, we approached Kinski's place. I could hear Kinski screaming and thrashing wildly inside. "No! No!" I tried to scream, but the gag made it impossible. I began to fight, but it was no use. The guards unlocked the door and tossed me in. I tried getting to my feet, but the door closed and locked before I could run to it. Darkness engulfed me. Shafts of moonlight poured through the top of the ceiling.

I struggled in the ropes that bound me. I finally got one wing free and pulled the gag from my mouth and it hung around my neck as I fumbled with the ropes. Kinski sat on the other side of the room. He had stopped thrashing. I could barely see him, but I knew he could see me. "Banshee..." he said in a low growl. The chains that held him had been loosened from the wall. They clattered against the cold floor. I took a step backwards. Shaking.

"K-Kinski...Please…" I said, tears ran down my face. Kinski ignored me. He got up. With one arm, he ripped off the weak chains that once held him. The chains crashed to the floor. He slowly approached me. I whimpered in fear. I had stopped fighting with the ropes as they hung around me. My body shook, not only from the bullets in my body. Kinski growled. He bared his teeth as he sniffed my scent.

I was breathing heavily. Kinski stopped sniffing and gave me a look of disgust as he began to slowly circle me. He walked where there was no moonlight shone. "K-Kinski..." I said, more tears came down my face. I was really scared. He was going to kill me.

Kinski growled angrily. Drool dribbled out of his mouth. His eyes flickered fear and anger as he stayed away from the shafts of moonlight. Suddenly, Kinski lunged. I moved out of the way. Kinski's body touched the moonlight. He growled and shook his head. He blinkled and looked down at himself. His body slowly deteriorated away and revealing bones. Kinski roared and moved away from the moonlight. He stared at his deteriorating arm and snapped his head to me.

"You did this to me!" He screamed. "N-no!" I whimpered. Kinski ignored me. He didnt realize. His mind was twisting everything. Kinski tried attacking me again. I moved away. Kinski touched moonlight again, causing part of his face and arm to wither away to shattered bone and hanging flesh. Kinski flickered in and out of the zombie transformation. He twitched and jerked. His eyes focused on me and he attacked. I screamed at him, causing him to fall backwards. I fell to the ground.

I screamed in pain as I landed on my wounded wings. I curled up into a ball behind an overturned, half broken table. Kinski got up from the debris in his full zombie transformation. I froze where I was as he sniffed the air for me. His white eyes glowed in the dark. My heart pounded loudly inside my chest. I held my breath and kept myself from crying. Tears and blood mixed together as I listened for Kinski. Kinski slowly shuffled past me. My instincts kicked in and I carefully scooted away from the zombie. Kinski heard me. He turned around and lunged. I wasnt able to scream in time as he landed on top of me.

The half destroyed table crashed and bits of wood was sent flying. Kinski's left skeleton hand clamped down over my mouth. He loomed over me; his sharp, jagged teeth formed a creepy smile. Drool seeped out of his grin and landed on my face but I was too scared to move. He snickered. His hot, nasty breath hit my face. I closed my eyes tightly when his head lowered down to mine. Suddenly, Kinski's body was shoved off me. Kinski roared again and I heard him crash on the other side of the room. I opened my eyes. Kinski screamed with rage and got up from where he crashed.

Brim stood in front of me. Her wings were up and her silver blades were unsheathed. Kinski snarled as he got up and charged on all fours toward her. Brim moved at lightning speed and within seconds, she had pinned Kinski down. Kinski roared and moved his arms and legs frantically. Suddenly, Kinski's body twisted around and grabbed Brim by the leg. Brim gasped and was pulled down.

Brim fought with Kinski. Kinski snarled and snapped his sharp teeth at her. Brim stabbed Kinski in the chest, but it only made the zombie angrier. Kinski slashed and clawed the air to Brim, who had her arm out to keep him from biting her face off as she walked backwards. Brim's back touched the other side of the wall, Kinski continued to snap the air with his teeth as he tried grabbing her. Brim bared her teeth and grunted with frustration as she tried to get the zombie away from her. With all her strength, she pulled up her legs to her chest, and kicked Kinski away from her.

Kinski screamed as he fell backwards and landed on his hump. Frail bones were heard breaking and snapping in half as Kinski jerked and twisted in pain. He screamed and thrashed. He finally got up off his deformity and rubbed it gently. His wide, lifeless eyes turned back to Brim. He growled and got up. Brim pulled out a different blade and muttered a couple words to herself. Kinski raised his arms and attacked.

Brim stabbed Kinski in the chest. Kinski stopped. His glowing eyes widened in shock. His stiff arms were still high over his head in attack mode. Brim reached up and placed her hand on top of his forhead. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated. Kinski stood frozen in his position as a strange gold current began to slowly snake out from Brim's hand and circle around his head. Finally, Brim removed her hand from his forehead and pulled out the silver blade from Kinski's chest and waited.

Suddenly, the zombie hunchback jackrabbit went limp and collapsed to the ground. Brim breathed heavily and dropped the blade. Finally, she fell to her knees and collapsed from exhaustion. I gingerly crawled my way over to Brim. Brim was breathing heavily as I placed my wing lightly on her head, making her white long ears droop to the sides of her short blonde hair. Brim carefully got up and rubbed her head. I removed my wing. Her white ears stuck straight up over her head again. I looked over at the insane zombie.

"Wh-what did you do?" I asked, starting to panic, thinking that she killed him. Brim picked up the dagger she dropped and got up. "I tried to fix his mind...I hope I did," she admitted. She held her head and faltered a bit, but regained her balance. "His mind was warped, but...hopefully he'll be back the way he was...he was always a zombie before I got here, right?" Brim asked me, looking down at me as I sat on my legs near Kinski's body.

I nodded. "He's half immortal, because Mr. Black brought him...and Bill, Stump and Chorizo, back to life. They're zombies, but only when the moonlight touches them," I explained. Brim nodded, then her eyes flickered down to my battered and torn wings. She concentrated as she squatted down. She ran her white fingertips over them. My wings began to glow a soft gold glow as my wings healed themselves. I flexed my wings and smiled. "Thanks," I said. Brim rubbed her head, gently. "No...problem," she said as she straightened up and got to her feet.

I turned back to Kinski and carefully reached over and lifted his upper body onto my lap. I stared down at Kinski's half skeleton face. His messy blonde hair covered most of the decaying flech and withering bone. I lightly brushed Kinski's wild bangs out of his closed dark sunken eyes. His mouth was slightly open, revealing disgusting sharp yellow teeth and black gums. I lightly ran the tips of my wing over his face again. Brim stared at me, then at Kinski. "You two are really sweet together," Brim said. I blushed and continued to brush Kinski's hair out of his eyes.

"You and Stump are too," I said. I turned my head to see Brim blush like mad, then turned back to the hunchback jackrabbit. After a couple minutes of silence, I silently got up and tried picking Kinski up off the floor. Brim helped me, and supported the undead, unconscious Kinski. Kinski's disheveled head dropped as we half carried half dragged him. I carfully opened the door and we both walked out the open door and past all the knocked out soldiers who once stood guard outside the small room. I couldnt help but smile.


	22. Chapter 22: A Twisted Prophecy

We snuck in the shadows of the houses as we made our way along Main street. We stopped and pressed our backs against the side of building in the darkness when a couple soldiers passed by us. We held our breaths and gripped Kinski's limp decaying arms as we watched the soldiers come toward the knocked out guards. They gasped and ran back the way they came. When they were gone, we quickly made our way around the building, then bolted to the other side to where Luminite and Jake were being held.

We hid in the shadows near the side of the building. The four soldiers who guarded the front were still conscious and alert. Brim silently pointed up. I looked up, then got the hint. She escaped from the roof, thats how she got out. Brim held the limp hunchback jackrabbit in her arms and flapped her huge feathery wings to the top. I lifted my wings and flapped after her.

When we got to the top, we looked around to see if anyone spotted us. The moon was covered behind some dark clouds that were coming in, making the ground dark, and harder to see. Below, the guards were coming back with others. "The bat and hunchback escaped!" they said, pointing nervously to the knocked out guards that laid scattered around the place. The guards sighed. "The boss aint gonna like this," he said. With that, the guard began to bark orders.

"Search everywhere!" he commanded. With that, all twelve guards scattered down the street. Their guns held tightly against their chests. Brim peered down through the hole in the roof that she escaped out from. Jake and Luminite were just starting to groan and stir below. Brim carefully flapped her wings and lowered herself down. She laid Kinski on his side down on the ground. I flapped my wings down after and looked around.

Jake and Luminite were bound in rope and chains of all sizes. The chains and ropes connected to the wall so when they awoke, they werent able to escape. Somehow, Brim was able to wake up before the males and managed to get her daggers and cut herself free and followed the sounds of my screams to where I was held. Brim carefully leaned down next to Luminite and touched the top of his furry white head. "Luminite?" she asked. Luminite groaned and blinked his golden eyes open. "B-Brim?" he asked. Brim smiled a small smile. "Yes. I'm here, and I brought some friends too when I escaped," she said as she pointed over to Kinski and me. Then she began to cut the ropes and chains away with her strong blades.

Luminite looked over to us and blinked again. "Wh-why didnt you all leave? You should leave and get-" Luminite was interrupted when Jakes long, curled body began to twitch and move. Jake lifted his head and shook his head a bit. "Wha?" he asked as he blinked is eyes that looked like the fire was burning low. Jake looked around the room, then at us. He began to move, but found that he was bound. Jake's eyes began to glow with rage as he fought with the ropes and chains that bound him.

He hissed angrily as he twisted and curled his body, causing the walls and rafters above to moan and crack. Brim quickly held her hands up as she began to flap her wings over Jake and to the moving ropes and chains. "Hold on! hold on!" she said in a loud whisper as she began to cut away at the ropes. Jake gradually stopped moving and watched as the Immortal white rabbit bagan to loosen the ropes and chains. The ropes fell down on Jake's coils as he gradually calmed down and shook the ropes and chains off him. He stretched his coils, careful not to hit anything and make a loud noise. He looked over at Luminite.

"So, what do we do now then? It doesn't seem to me that we'll be able to stop Blor now," he pointed out as he looked over at the empty jail cell. Luminite got up and rubbed his left arm. "I know, but the important thing, is that we have you, you are the only one to stop Blor," he said. Jake rolled his eyes in the dark room. He still didnt see how that was possible.

Brim helped Luminite when he began to falter. Luminite turned his head and looked out the window. He gasped as his eyes widened and he whipped his head back to us. "Soldiers are coming! go!" he said to us. I grabbed Kinski's limp arms and dragged him to the back room. Brim followed right behind me, just as the door burst open. The soldiers came in, but were knocked down when Jake came forward and made his way to outside. The soldiers shot Jake in his soft underbelly, but it didnt seem to stop him. He hissed as he used his tail to smack the soldiers aside. Luminite waved Brim away when she came back.

"Go! We'll hold them off as long as we can!" he yelled as he got up from the debris and used his staff that was leaning against the wall near him to help him move to the door. Brim hesitated before turneing back and grabbing Kinski's other arm and we both made our way through the house. Gunshots and shouts were heard behind us as we ran down the hallway and looked into each room for a safe place to hide. Somehow, a couple soldiers got pass Jake and Luminite. Brim and I could hear them searching the house as we franically searched through the rooms.

"Here," said Brim as she began to pull Kinski's arm. I followed as I held Kinski's other arm and we went into the pantry. The food inside was beginning to rot on the wooden shelves and the air was cold inside. Our shoes thudded against the stone floor of the food pantry. Brim let go of Kinski's arm and closed the wooden door. She held her breath and touched her blade in her leather sheath as she peeked through the keyhole in the door as the accumulating soldiers began to search right outside the door.

I held my breath as I supported Kinski. His left arm was draped over my shoulders and his head hung there. His flesh peeled away and bugs wove in and out of his wild messy hair. I bit my lip when I felt one of the bugs crawl up my neck. It tickled and I wanted to flick it away, but I couldnt make any noise, so I stood there, cringing and biting my lip to keep me occupied till I tasted blood.

Brim quickly moved away from the door and grabbed Kinski's limp arm and we both ran to the end of the root celler. At the end was a dumb waiter. The little wooden platform was only big enough for two at most. Brim forced me into the dumb waiter and then placed the limp hunchback Jackrabbit inside with me. I looked up and noticed the rotting ropes that held it. I turned back to Brim. I shifted when I realized what was going on. "No-" I started. "I'm going to hold them off long enough for you two to escape. The dumb waiter will go down to the basement. You'll have enough time to get out and go out the back door and run," she said.

Before I could protest, the pantry door crashed open and the soldiers came filing into the room. Brim turned back to me. "They cant hurt me, now go," she said. She gave me one quick hug. As she did, she sliced the ropes. "No!" I screamed as I began to fall with Kinski. I caught sight of Brim one last time as she fought the soldiers before the roof of the dumb waiter blocked my vision and I fell into the darkness.

...

_Brim turned around, just as a soldier was charging her. At lightning speed, she slashed his stomach and kicked him away from her. A couple bullets ricocheted from her armor and pierced through her skin, but it didnt hurt her. She approched the numerous soldiers with her two blades as the gold current circled around the places where the bullets tore her pure white fur and flesh. She ducked kicked and jumped as she fought the mortal enemies. A bullet made contact with her blade, causing it to fly out of her hand. A soldier smacked her across the face with his gun. _

_She screamed and fell to the ground. The soldier kicked the other blade from her hand and aimed the nose of the gun to the back of her head. Brim bared her teeth in anger. In one swift movement. She grabbed the nose of the gun and pointed it up. The soldeir fired, killing one of his comrads as they were beginning to circle around Brim. Brim got up, as she was pulling out her long sword from the sheath on her back and sliced the first three soldeir heads that faced her. Bullets bit into her flesh, but it didnt matter to her as she swung the blade with a grat force and took down the soldiers around her. She ducked as more bullets whizzed by. She grabbed the gun from the dead soldier and aimed it at the remaining soldiers. _

_She snarled angrily as more gold currents circled around her wounds. She was breathing heavily as she pointed the nose of the gun to the remaining soldiers, who finally gave up and dropped their guns. Brim's ears suddenly picked up to the sounds of groans and screaming outside. Jake and Luminite. Brim slowly walked backwards from them, back down the hallway where she once came. Finally, she turned around and ran down the rooms, and out of the house. When she got to outside, she couldnt believe what she saw. _

_Jake and Luminite were facing Bill/Blor. Luminite was down, and had his arms and wings tied down behind his back. He was too weak to fight. Jake was held down by a couple chains, and a strange glowing green current, circling around his whole body. Brim gasped, but suddenly felt her arms and wings get pinned down by her sides and forced down to her knees. Bill turned and smirked. "Ah, I see we have all the Immortals with us now," he said as he laughed softly. _

_Brim turned her head when she saw something at the corner of her eye. Stump was getting out of the jail cell, and was accompanied by Chorizo. They both turned and saw Brim and the other Immortals bound and facing Bill/Blor. Brim stared at Stump. Stump stared back from where he was. He could see tears come down her eyes. "Stump," she said in a whisper. Stump began to move toward her, but was stopped when Chorizo's hand gripped his shoulder. Stump turned his head to Chorizo, who shook his head as a way of saying that they wouldnt be able to save her anyway, not with Blor and his growing powers. _

_Stump turned to Brim one last time. Stump pulled out the familiar scrap of cloth with the symbol of trust on it. Brim stared at it. Then, Stump and Chorizo bolted out of the town, into the night. Brim turned back to Bill/Blor. Jake thrashed violently in the strange glowing green current that Blor had mustered up. Bill walked up to the huge rattlesnake and smirked. "Hello, Jake. How are you?" he asked. Jake hissed angrily and thrashed wildly as he shouted out a string of insults and curses to Bill and Blor. Bill stopped smirking as he heard his master say something, but wasnt able to hear it over the snake. _

_"Boss?" he asked. Suddenly, Bill began to twitch in pain. Jake stopped and watched with nervous eyes. Luminite, Brim, and the soldiers around them watched in horror as Bill screamed and collapsed to the ground. The winds began to pick up and the dark black coulds swirled above the town. Lighning cracked the sky and thunder boomed overhead as the strange occurance began to happen. Suddenly, a strange black spirit like thing snaked out of Bill and entered into Jake. Jake screamed and thrashed wildly again. The green currents disappeared and the huge rattlesnake whipped his head around. His tail crashed into the buildings of the town and his head scraped along the hard packed dirt ground, staining it from scarlet blood, to black blood. _

_Everyone began to back away as Blor began to take over Jake's body. Finally, the snake gradually settled down. Jake opened his eyes. They were a cold glowing yellow with thin black slits. He grinned, revealing a set of sharp teeth. Bill got up and gasped at what just happened. "B-boss," he said. shifted his eyes down at the Gila monster as he loomed over everyone. "I dont need you anymore, Bill," he hissed in a cold voice. Then he turned back to the trembling soldiers holding the two Immortals. "Take them to the jail," he ordered. __With that, the shaking soldiers obeyed their master in his new host body and took Brim and Luminite to the jail cells and locked them inside. _

_Bill took his chance and hopped onto a roadrunner and rode out of the town and into the darkness... _

_The soldiers tossed the bound Immortals into the same cell and locked the cell behind them. With that, the soldiers walked out of the jail. Brim laid on the ground. Her weapons were taken away, and her wings, arms and legs were bound. She looked over to Luminite, who was bound as well, but wasnt moving. His eyes shifted on the ground, deep in his thoughts. _

_Brim was begginning to freak out. Her breathing got heavy and her eyes began to water up as her mind repeated the scene that she just saw with Blor and Jake. "Wh-what do we do n-now?" she asked in a stutter. She was very scared. Luminite's eyes were wide and full of fear. He slowly shook his head. "I...I dont know," he admitted in a soft voice. Brim felt hot tears roll down her face as she stared at Luminite. _

_"He took over Jake's b-body! Wh-what are we going to-" "I dont know!" screamed Luminite. Brim's eyes widened. She closed her mouth. She has never heard Luminite raise his voice like that. Ever! Luminite turned away from her and lowered his white head. He had no idea what was going to happen now. Their only hope to taking down Blor, the one in the prohecy...was now Blor's new host. How was Blor going to be defeated...?_

_What was going to happen now...? _


	23. Chapter 23: Escape

...

Kinski's limp body slipped away from mine as we began to free fall through the darkness. I reached out but couldnt feel anything, only rushing air. Finally, the dumb waiter came to a sudden stop as chunks of wood and Kinski crashed down on me. I screamed a small sudden scream then went quiet. I blinked and looked around the room after everything went quiet. My eyes got used to the darkness and I looked around the dark room.

It was a small, stone basement with a wooden floor. I got Kinski off of me and supported him. I turned around and stared at the dumb waiter. It was destroyed. The ropes laid limp like snakes across the broken splintered pieces of wood that once held the whole thing up. Above, in the dumb waiter tunnel, I could hear Brim fighting against the soldiers. Gunshots were heard, but sounded muffled and not as loud from where I was.

I carefully turned back around. Kinski's bug infested head lolled and nudged my head. He was still out cold, which still made me a bit worried. I didnt want to think that Brim killed him and I was getting my hopes high for nothing. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a noise. My ears perked up and I looked around. Nothing. I looked up. The ceiling was made of dry, hard dirt. There was nothing really inside the basement. Just a couple old pieces of furniture, boxes of books and photo albums.

I half carried, half dragged the zombie Kinski in my wings as I walked around the basement. Finally, my boots hit something. I looked down. The rotting wooden floorboards sounded strange. I took two steps back and lightly stomped the floor. Then I took two steps forward where I once stood and stomped the floor again. This time, the floor sounded hollow and had an echo sound to it. I carefully placed Kinski down and went down on my hands and knees.

I gritted my teeth in frustration as I tried prying the wooden boards up. They wouldnt budge. The nails were rusty, but still strong. I looked up at the ceiling and listened to the sounds above. A couple faint gunshots went off overhead. I looked back down at the floorboards and screamed. The floorboards splintered and broke around me. A hole opened up. Below, was a tunnel that went off in two different directions. I smiled. I remembered when Mr. Black found a secret tunnel under a house to the aquifer. Hopefully this one did too. I got up and picked Kinski up. He was a bit heavy, but not as heavy as he usually was when he was "normal."

Suddenly, I heard a strange sound behind me. The dumbwaiter. They figured it out. The soldiers were coming! I turned back to the hole and jumped down. I fell when I made it to the bottom. I winced and rubbed my sore wings. Kinski layed sprawled on the ground. It was dark and cold in the tunnel. I had no idea how I was going to see. I blinked, suddenly remembering that Kinski always carried a box of matches in his pocket. I tried the left pocket and found the box. The match snapped from its holder as I placed it against the inside. A flame appeared at the end, illuminating a good section of the tunnel. I placed the box of matches in my own pocket. With one wing, I picked Kinski up and began to move through the tunnel. I didnt turn back as I kept walking swiftly through the dark.

I made my way along the tunnel. I shifted Kinski a bit to keep him from slipping. His decaying feet dragged along the ground. My eyes began to adjust to the darkness and the tunnel seemed to lighten up as I walked. Suddenly, the light blew out. I dropped the burnt out match and lifted Kinski in both of my wings. The tunnel opened up to a section of the aquifer. A different part of the system I have never been through before. My eyes followed along the way down till I spotted a couple flickering lights on the other side near another group of tunnels. It was the citizens. They were being led to the mines under the town. The lights were held by the numerous guards. Their sharp orders echoed in the huge, cavernous aquifer.

Monsterous stalagtites and stalagmites stretched along the inside of the open mouth like cavern of the aquifer. Bits of light illuminated the inside, giving it a spectacular look and a glowing teal like color. My eyes went back to my captive friends. I didnt know what to do. They were being forced to work in the horrible mines, and I was trying to escape. I hesitated.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. I spun around and found myself face to face with a guard. He raised his gun. "Hey!" he yelled. I quickly ducked behind a boulder as he began to fire. Kinski collapsed to the ground. Bullets flew right over my head as I crouched behind the boulder. I waited till he ran out of bullets. When he stopped I peeked over the boulder, and nearly got shot when he fired a couple more rounds. I began to freak out when I realized that he was coming near as he fired. I picked up Kinski and scooted closer to the side of the tunnel.

The guard stopped firing and came right up to me. Just as he showed his face, I quickly turned into the Nightmare and screamed at him. The guard went flying backwards and crashed down the tunnel. I lifted the limp hunchback jackrabbit into my huge wings and placed him up on my back. Just as I was getting away, the guard got up and shot me in the side. I screeched in pain and collapsed. Kinski rolled off my back and collapsed like a rag doll next to me. A couple bones snapped and Kinski's arm broke off.

I lifted my wings to him, but the guard beat me to it. He grabbed Kinski by the neck and lifted him up. He pointed the gun at my face as he examined Kinski. "What the-?" he began, but was interrupted when I screamed at him. Both Kinski and the guard were sent flying back. I limped over to them when they crashed into the wall. This time, the guard was knocked out cold. Blood stained his uniform. I looked over at Kinski. He didnt look any better. His body was twisted in a grotesque way. His jaw was broken and hanging open.

I flinched in disgust and turned back to my normal size. I got back into my clothes and walked over to Kinski. I gingerly helped him upright and dragged him away from the mess. I picked up his arm from the ground, clicked it back into its' socket, and made my way down the tunnel.

...

I walked along the edge of the path near the dark abyss as I made my way along the inside of the huge aquifer. Tunnels snaked out from my path and to a different tunel. I began to slow down to a stop. I hesitated when three tunnels stood before me. Which one? I shifted Kinski in my wings and began to walk toward the one to the right. As I did, I heard a couple sounds behind me. I quickened my pace and made my way to the right tunnel.

Inside, I lifted my left wing from Kinski and began to run the tips of my fingers along the crusting dirt wall of the tunnel. Inside it was dark, and I couldnt see a thing. I stopped and listened for any more sounds. Nothing. I sighed with relief and decided to take a rest. I laid Kinski down to the ground and sat down next to him. I ran my fingers over the hunchback jackrabbit's shoulder. Making sure he was still there.

Finally, I decided to try to light another match, since I was out of the cold wind. I pulled the box of matches out of my pocket and struck one. The light illuminated the area I was in. The tunnel's floor had alot of rocks in all sizes, but past it, I saw something silver. I got up and walked over to the shiny thing that was wedged between two rocks above. I reached out and grabbed it. The item loosened from the rocks and I was able to pull it out. It was a pot. I stared at it. What was a pot doing here? I looked around the huge rock and noticed something else.

I walked around the huge rock and found myself what looked like a small house like section in the tunnel. Broken hand made wooden shelves were broken and splintered along the tunnel walls and were filled with bottles and jars of peaches, jerky, pickles, potatoes, rice, jams, jellies, and all other sorts of goods. A couple were shattered and broken, but a couple were still intact. Next to them, were countless pots and pans and tubs, and other kitchenwares scattered everywhere. "Hello?" I called out as I looked around. No one answered.

On the other side was a table turned over and a couple of broken wooden chairs. I looked up when the light began to flicker. Above was a hole that went all the way up. I raised the match up as far as I could stretch and continued to look up. The hole illuminated a bit, and I was able to see what was above me. It looked like a room. Was it one of the houses in the town? It could have been, and the floor couldnt support the kitchen and it fell down here.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of talking. I gasped and turned back. "Kinski," I said and quickly went back.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I faced a couple soldiers holding lanterns and staring down at the lifeless body of the decaying hunchback jackrabbit. Their heads lifted up and they spotted me. "It's them! the bat and the rabbit!" one of them said. Two soldiers quickly grabbed Kinski and hoisted him up as the others began to pull out their rifles from their holders. I began to turn into the Nightmare, but found myself getting squished in between the very tight spaced tunnel. The soldiers raised their weapons. I screamed at them, causing them to fly backwards. The lanturns had toppled over and went out.

I changed back to my normal size. My clothes were stretched and began to tear, but I didnt have time to worry about that as I made my way to Kinski. Kinski's body laid among the soldiers scattered along the path. Possibly knocked out cold. A couple fell to their deaths into the deep aquifer. I carefully tiptoed around the knocked out bodies, making my way to Kinski. Suddenly I felt a hand grip my leg. I screamed and turned my head around and looked down. A soldier glared up at me as he began to shift his gun and lift it to my face. He pulled, forcing me to go down.

Two more got up and began to drag Kinski away. I screamed at the soldier who held me. He went backwards, but still held my leg, causing me to get pulled forward. I flapped my wings rapidly as the soldier began to fall into the aquifer.I began to panic as my wings tried gripping anyhting it could grab to not fall into the dark abyss. The soldiers weight wasnt helping as I began to slip even more. I looked up at the two guards who were still pulling Kinski away. I began to turn into The Nightmare, causing the soldier to freak out and fall to his death. My transforming massive wings gripped the edge of the path tightly. I was exhausted, but still managed to hang on. The soldiers saw me and began to shoot me.

I screamed at the soldiers. The bullets flew backwards along with the soldiers. They began to tumble to the edge of the dark abyss. I quickly got up and bolted down the path to them. Kinski's limp body was half hanging over the edge as the soldiers held on to the edge for dear life. I scooped Kinski up in my wings. My eyes flickered down to the soldiers.

"H-help us!" they screamed. I hesitated... then decided to do the right thing. I changed back to my normal size, placed Kinski down and then walked over to them. I overed them a hand and pulled them away from the edge. They sighed with relief. I growled at them as a warning to not pull anything. They jumped to the sound of my growl and faced me. With their eyes wide and full of terror, they slowly raised their arms as a sign of innocence and then began to back away from me. Then they quickly turned around and bolted blindly into the dark back the way they came from. I sighed and lowered myself down to Kinski's body and wrapped my wings around him. He didnt move...

After that, I went back to what I was doing and decided to grab a couple supplies, since the soldiers who ran away knew where I was and will possibly come back with more soldiers. It was time to leave. I turned back to normal and found a white and red plaid like dress crumpled up in the corner and slipped it on. I found some black womens boots and slipped them on as well. They were a bit small, but I was able to walk in them.

After that, I pulled the tablecloth off the table and began to collect a couple essentials from the kitchen.I grabbed a blanket, a jar of peaches, a bundle of jerkey, a loaf of bread, jam, a box of matches, two plates, a can of beans, a canteen of water, and a pot. I tied the ends of the tablecloth together, picked up Kinski, and made my way down the tunnel in the dark.

...

My eyes noticed a little gleam of light. The end of the tunnel. My arms seemed to scream with relief as I made my way toward the light. When I got out of the tunnel, I dropped the bundle of supplies and Kinski, then I collapsed down and breathed heavily in exhaustion.I was sore and tired . My eyes gradually lifted up and fell on the town of Dirt. The new Hell. Dark clouds began to swirl around the town of Dirt. It began to lightly rain. A couple droplets splattered on my face as I stared at the town of Dirt. Tears began to well up in my eyes as I thought of my friends.

I got up and picked up the zombie rabbit and the supplies and carried them away from the town to somewhere dry. I found a small cave near a couple boulders and decided to rest there. I gently laid Kinski down and placed the bundled supplies next to him. I turned my head to the limp Kinski. I blinked away the tears as I slowly reached over and lightly ran the tip of my wing over his decaying face. He didnt flinch, I was afraid that he was really dead. His dark sunken eyes were closed shut. When I carefully lifted one of his peeling eyelids open, the eye was white and lifeless...

A cold breeze sliced through me and I shivered. I grabbed the bundle of blankets. I realized that I grabbed two and wrapped one of them around me. I looked over at Kinski and wrapped the second blanket over him and pulled him closer into the small cave next to me. I huddled near his decaying body and began to cry as I thought of all my friends who were now under the control of Blor...and I was here, trying to sleep after escaping and nearly getting killed and almost losing Kinski. I couldnt do anything, I was stuck. I was only one bat. I couldnt take down Blor by myself, I needed more people to help me. Frustration hit me and made me cry some more. I cried myself to sleep...

...


	24. Chapter 24: Tremble

_..._

The stars came out and the night became chilly as I huddled next to the zombie Kinski. The moon came peeking out from behind the clouds and illuminated the ground, waking me up. I blinked my eyes open. I was able to see Kinski. I watched him. He didnt move.

It wasnt that helpful to have a possibly dead zombie next to you where it could attract insects. Flies and other creepy crawlies came to weave in and out of Kinski's hair and were thinking about laying eggs in his eyes.

I shooed the flies away and brushed the maggots, and other nasty bugs from the rabbit's body and pulled the rotting corpse next to me. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Kinski smelled horrible...like death. I was starting to wish he came back as something that smelled better when Mr. Black brought him back to life.

I held my breath and wrapped my wings around him. His head nudged next to mine. I could feel no air escape his bacteria covered lips. My chest brushed up against his. All I could feel was my own heart beating. My wings lightly touched his hump that was just starting to cave in.

Even when we got together, he moved away every time when my wings brushed up against his deformity. I knew he had a rough time with his deformity, but I actually didnt mind it at all. It made him different from everyone else.

I moved away and gasped for freah air. I shivered when a cold breeze hit my face. Kinski's body moved and nudged up against my back. I turned, hoping that he was alive, but I then realized that his body was just unbalanced and fell over to me. I felt tears come to my eyes. I turned back and wrapped my wings around Kinski again and cried in his moth eaten longsleeve shirt.

"P-please dont b-be d-dead," I stuttered as hot tears rolled down my face. Kinski's head rested under my head and his coarse dead hair tickled my face. I no longer cared for the smell...I just wanted him back with me...

...

I woke up the next morning with the warm sun's rays on my face. I blinked my sore, red eyes open and looked around. The sun was just peeking over the purple mountains. It was still a bit chilly though. I pulled my blanket tighter around me as I lifted myself into a sitting position.

Kinski was lying face down next to me. His blanket was covering the lower half of his body, but something was happening. I rubbed my stinging eyes and blinked them a couple of times as the gold light of the sun began to sneak up to Kinski's body. As the light began to gradually move across Kinski's skeleton feet, that stuck out from the blanket, an extraordinary thing happened. The shattered areas on the bones began to repair themselves like magic.

Kinski's flesh, blood and skin began to grow back right before my eyes. As his thick fur began to grow back, his legs began to twitch and the flesh was regrowing back from under the blanket. The sun came to his decaying upper torso. His clothes began to sew back as well.

All the areas where they got torn when he was a zombie, were sewn back by an invisible thread and looked as if it never growing bacteria stopped and began to shrink. Fur sprouted and Kinski began to gain his proper weight back.

Finally, his face went in reverse as well and began to grow back flesh and fur. His eyes, sprung open as he twisted around and sat bolt upright. He gasped heavily, his chest rising and falling. I gasped in amazement and felt tears of joy begin to trickle down my face. He was alive.

"Kinski," I said and wrapped my wings around him. Kinski jolted when he felt my wings around him. I felt him start to shake and he began to breathe heavily. I blinked my eyes open and I stopped hugging him. "Kinski?" I asked. Kinski stared at me with eyes full of fear. He trembled uncontrollably. Finally, he collapsed down and curled into a ball. He made little whimpering noises and began to mutter repeatedly something I couldn't understand.

"Kinski?"

Kinski tembled. His hands were close together, shaking. His eyes stared down at the ground, wide and full of fear. I pulled up the blanket that laid next to him and wrapped it around him. He still continued to tremble. "Kinski?" I asked again and scooted closer to him. Kinski flinched again when he felt my wing on his shoulder. He made a soft whimper noise. I lifted my wing away from Kinski. I didnt understand. Why was he like this? Why was he scared of me?

I turned my head to the bundle of supplies and decided to give him something to eat. Maybe he was just hungry and needed something in his system. I unraveled the tacky tablecloth and pulled out the loaf of bread, the can of beans, a plate and a pot. I found some nearby dry plants and placed them into a pile. I pulled out the box of matches from my dress pocket and lit a match. I lit the dry pile and it blazed to life and placed the pot over it as I poured half the can of beans into the pot.

Kinski didnt look up from where he was, even when the smell began to waft into the air. I pulled the pot away from the fire when the beans began to move. I realized I forgot utensils and decided to use a strip of jerky as a spoon. The jerky was hard, but it acted as a good utensil. I scooped out a "spoonful" of beans and plopped it down onto the plate. I scooped out two more and onto the plate, then pulled off a chunck of bread. I looked up at Kinski. "Kinski, I have some food for you," I said in a soft, gentle voice. Kinski continued to tremble in his strange, trauma like state.

I placed the pot down and lightly placed my free wing on top of his deformity. Kinski gasped and snapped his head up. His wide eyes stared up at me. His mouth was slightly open. His eyes flickered to the plate with beans and bread in my other wing. He blinked, then turned his eyes back to me.

I slowly stretched my wing out with the plate of food. "Eat," I said. Kinski stared at me, then the beans. Little waves of quivers shuddered through his body. His mouth opened and closed slightly at the sight of the food that hovered in front of him. He looked up at me, then turned his head away. I blinked as I lowered the plate of food a bit.

He was in a traumitized state I realized. When Brim tried to fix his mind, something happened... but, traumatized or not, he needed to eat. "Kinski, please," I said. Kinski turned his head back to me. He stared down at the food. Another shudder went through him and he turned away again. I forced the food closer to his mouth to where the beans brushed up against his lips. "Kinski, please eat for me. I dont want you to starve...I understand you just woke up from a horrible experience. I know Blor had messed up your mind, but you need to please eat...It'll make you feel better," I said, not sure if it was true or not, but it would make me feel better.

Kinski didnt move as he continued to tremble. Finally, he turned his head slightly to me with huge wide eyes. He hesitated, then opened his mouth wide enough for me to place the food into his mouth. I used the piece of jerky as a spoon and placed the food into his mouth. He closed his mouth around the jerky and began to chew the beans. I pulled the end of the jerky out of his mouth and scooped another glob of beans. Kinski swalloed the beans and slowly opened his mouth fro another bite.

As he chewed the beans, I placed the piece of jerky down on the plate and offered him the piece of bread. He tore off a little chunk of dry bread and chewed it thoughtfully. His eyes would flicker from me to the ground as I "spoonfed" him. I pulled out the canteen of water and pulled the cap off. Kinski licked his lips thirstliy. He straightened up a bit, so I was able to pour the cold water down his throat. He gulped three gulps, then pulled away. I capped the canteen and stared at him as he curled back up in his blanket and stared down at the ground. His disheveled hair hung low over his face so I was unable to see his eyes and try to read what he was thinking.

I got out another piece of jerky and scooped out a glob of beans. "Kinski? Would you like some more?" I asked. Kinski didnt move. "Kinski? Would you like some more?" I asked a little louder. He finally shook his head. I sighed and looked down at the half eaten plate of food and got up. I got out from the small cave and looked out. The sun was hovering over the purple mountains. I shivered as the cold air swept through me. The mornings were always chilly, but they eventually warmed up.

My stomach interrupted my thoughts and told me to eat. I stared down at the warm plate of beans and bread and sighed. I guess I could eat the beans, since Kinski wasnt eating much. I used the dry end of the jerky that didnt have Kinski's saliva on it and ate the beans. The beans were ok. They were a bit hard and needed a few more minutes to cook, but other then that, they were ok. I never really knew how to cook. I've seen the market traders and a couple of townswomen cook something over a fire, so I was familiar with it, but never tried it myself.

I turned my head back to Kinski to see how he was. Kinski still stayed in a little ball. I felt horrible. I wanted to do something but...what could I do? His mind was toyed with by a demon who could have done some serious damage to his mind to make Kinski see and believe things that werent there...I didnt know if I was making it better or making it worse...

I lowered my head down and stared at the beans. _He isnt all there...he still isnt. Even when we first met...but, it's better then him wanting to kill me. I have to just live with him in his state...for how long?_ I felt my throat close up and tears began to form. I sighed and took one more mouthful of beans and a bit of bread before walking back to the small cave where the hunchback jackrabbit laid. "Kinski?" I asked as I went down on my knees next to him. Kinski trembled when I touched him. I felt tears roll down my eyes. I wiped them away.

"I really missed you, Kinski...I..." I said, as my voice faltered and more tears came down. The tears stung as they came down from my eyes, but I didnt care. I wanted him to talk to me, to comfort me...Kinski still didnt move or say anything. He was still far away from me. I cried and wrapped my wings around him. Kinski whimpered and began to shake, but I didnt care as I held him close to me. The tears stopped when I couldnt cry anymore. My eyes were red and sore...

...

I stayed with him till it was the afternoon. I warmed the bread up, to soften and handed a little piece to Kinski. He ate it, then went back to his little ball. He got used to my touch as I gently rubbed the top of his deformity. He didnt flinch as much. I learned another thing about him. He liked it when I smoothed his hair from his face. He seemed to relax and loosen up from his curled up state. He closed his wide eyes as I lightly smoothed out his hair. Comforting him. It must have been something that his caretaker did to calm him down. I stared down at his relaxed face as he fell asleep and twitched next to me.

When he was breathing normally, I sighed and moved away from him. Kinski slept and stretched his legs out a bit. I got up and walked out and stared out to the town of Dirt. The dark clouds continued to swirl above the town. The sun couldnt shine down on the town. The clouds kept it from bringing any light into the town, keeping it cold and dark...

...

The sun burned away and disappeared behind the dark clouds, making it as dark as night. I gave Kinski another drink of water. He nibbled on a couple slices of peaches from the jar. I ate a couple myself before deciding to go to sleep. The sun disappeared and went out, then the stars began to appear across the dark blue sky. The moon was blocked by the dark clouds that acted like a shroud or a looming shadow over the town.

I grabbed my blanket and wrapped it around myself and laid down next to Kinski, who was already bundled up. He trembled as he stared at me. I faced him as I curled up to him. I lifted my wing and began to stoke his hair. His eyes winced, then he gradually relaxed and shifted a bit.

His eyes gradually flutered shut, and he fell asleep. I stared at him as he slept. His breathing was slow, and calm. His stiff body relaxed and he slowly began to uncurl. I kept lightly stroking his hair, comforting him and soothing him. When he was fast asleep, I scooted closer to him and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Kinski" I said before falling asleep...


	25. Chapter 25: Frustration

**Sorry about the late chapter. I have been busy. Hope you dont mind and enjoy this chapter :)**

_..._

Early the next morning, my ears flicked and twitched to the sounds of faint footsteps. I blinked my eyes open and lifted my head up a bit. I looked out from the little cave and looked around. Nothing. No one was around. Kinski twitched and began to move his mouth. "No...no, no,no...vill never...never..." he muttered. I blinked. He was talking in his sleep. His body twitched next to me. I rubbed the tired out of my eyes and stared down at him.

Kinski stopped trembling and stayed in a curled up ball. "Never...never vill..." was all he said and began to snore softly. I stared down at him. What did he mean, he 'never will'? It didnt make any sense.

I decided to not worry about it, I was tired and I wanted to just sleep. I rested my head back down next to Kinski's head and scooted closer to him. Kinski flinched, but then relaxed and kept on sleeping. Right when I got comfortable, the sounds of footsteps were heard again. I didnt open my eyes this time, but listened instead. My eyes shot wide open when I heard voices. This time I got up and moved out from the little cave and peeked around the corner.

My heart skipped a beat from the chilly morning air, and a scattered group of soldiers, searching the vast open desert on the outskirts of the town. They were searching for us. I moved away and went back in the little cave and began to quietly pack all the supplies into the bound table cloth and went over to wake up Kinski. I carefully lowered my wing, and let it rest on his shoulder. "Kinski," I whispered. Kinski didnt move.

I gently shook his shoulder. He grunted and twitched, but kept on sleeping. "Kinski," I said, a little louder. "Kinski, please wake up," I pleaded. My heart was racing, I needed him to get up and get going. Finally, Kinski woke up and he lifted his eyes up to me. I placed the bundle of supplies down and used both of my wings to pull his arm to get up. "Kinski, come on, we have to go. The soldiers are outside and they're looking for us," I said in a low voice.

Kinski just stared at me with wide eyes full of fear behind his blonde bangs. He didnt show any intensions of getting up. I turned my head when I heard voices right near the cave. They were getting closer. I turned back to Kinski, who's eyes were staring past me and toward the cave. He could hear them too. He turned his eyes to me and began to tremble again. I stared back at him. "Kinski, please get up." I pulled his arm till my wings started to hurt. Kinski finally got up, but went into a hunched position and held his hands close to his chest. He stared at me.

I stared back at him, inhaling and exhaling softly. Suddenly, I watched as his eyes flickered past me and went wide. I quickly turned around, just in time to see a soldier appear and raise his gun at us. He gasped, then turned his head slightly. "Hey! I found them!" He yelled. I felt Kinski starting to tremble as he gripped my wing tightly. I turned my head to him. He was still trembling as he stared at the soldiers with wide, scared eyes.

I turned back in time to see more soldiers come and join the soldier who found us. They aimed their weapons at us and pulled the hammers back. "Now, come quietly, and no one get's hurt," said one soldier. I sighed and lowered my head. I couldnt think of any ideas for us to get out of this mess. I took one step forward. I stopped when I felt that something was keeping me from moving forward. I turned my head back and looked down. Kinski's hands were still gripping my left wing.

I looked up at Kinski, but he was still in his traumatized state as he stared straight forward in fear. The soldiers noticed this. "Hey! Git movin'!" another yelled. I squeezed Kinski's hands with my left wing. He flinched and turned his focus to me. "Kinski, come on," I said. Kinski didnt seem to understand as he stared with a blank expression on his face.

The soldiers started to get impatient. "We're going to shoot you out if you dont come out!" snarled one soldier as he came into the small cave. The soldier jabbed the nose of his gun into Kinski's gut. Kinski yelped and moved away from him, but the soldier kept threatening him. "Stop that!" I snapped at the soldier. He turned the nose of the gun to me.

"Shut it and git movin'!" he snarled. Kinski hid behind me, but then yelped when a gunshot was heard. He went down into a ball. I saw him wince in pain as he clamped a furry hand down near his droopy ear. Blood began to seep through his fingertips. I gasped at the sight of his wound and bared my teeth at the group of soldiers.

I screamed at the soldiers, causing them to fly backwards and crash back down tewnty feet from us. I transformed into The Nightmare. The boulders that made up the little cave began to crash and tumble away as I grew to the massive size. Kinski was in a little ball below me. The soldier who came into the cave was buried under a bunch of boulders. Crushed to death.

The soldiers who landed away from the cave, got up, and began to fire at us. Bullets whizzed by me as I picked up Kinski and the bundle of supplies in my front teeth. Then flapped my massive wings, and flew away as fast as I could. A couple bullets pierced through my wings, making it harder for me to fly. The uneaven hard packed dirt ground and little clusters of dead plants whizzed by in a blur as I flew across the scenery toward the rising morning sun.

...

I landed near a dead bush that I could see right over, surrounded by a couple maroonish colored rocks and chunks of quartz. I placed Kinski and the supplies down carefully. My wings were very sore and the bullet holes had stretched. The blood was dry and stayed in the inside of the holes. Kinski dropped down and curled up into his little ball again, whimpering and shaking. He held his bleeding drooping ear as I transformed back into my normal size. The dress that I slipped out of was intact, so I just slipped it back on. I walked over and checked inside the bundle to see if anything fell out. The jar of peaches was gone...oh well.

The shadowed areas from the mountains began to slowly disappear as the golden sun began to rise across the beautiful blue sky and warm the cold ground. I turned around and faced the direction where the town of Dirt once was. It was small and faint, but you could tell that it was the town. A cool breeze rustled my hair and dress. I took a deep breath and exhaled as my eyes scanned the horizon of the endless desert in search for the soldiers. I couldnt see any movement, but most likely they were going to still try and hunt us down.

We had to move to someplace safe. Someplace so Blor's soldiers wouldnt find us, and then we could have more time to think up a plan. I turned back to Kinski. Kinski's face was hidden behind his disheveled long hair. His legs were tucked into his body and he didnt move. He was in his little protection zone...but it wouldnt protect him against the bullets and soldiers. We had to leave.

"Kinski, please get up, it's time to go," I said as I came up to him. Kinski's body shook again when I rested my wing on top and went down on my knees. He shook his head gently. His droopy ears ran right and left against the dirt ground. The one ear left a small stain of blood on the ground. I reached out for the bundle of supplies and grabbed a corner of one of the blankets and carefully began to clean the blood.

Kinski made a strange little noise of pain and moved his head away from me. I moved my wing down to his head. A little shudder went through him. "Kinski," I said. Kinski didnt say anything. I sighed, and decided not to wait for an answer as I tried cleaning the blood from him. He flinched and whimpered, but I was able to soak up the blood.

I looked over to the town of Dirt. I might have been imagining it, but it looked like movement. The soldiers? I didnt want to take any chances. We needed to leave. I looked down at my wings, just as a jolt of pain coursed through them. I couldnt fly, we were going to have to walk.

I turned back to Kinski. I sighed. It was going to take a lot of effort to get him to move in his condition, but it was the only way for now to get away from the soldiers. I weaved my wings into his right arm and began to get to my feet. Kinski didnt move. I pulled him till he was up onto his knees. His head was lowered. I got up onto my feet, then got him to his feet. Kinski's legs shook and he started to falter and go back down. I wrapped my wings around him to keep him from going back into a little ball.

"Come on, Kinski," I said softly as I shifted to his left side and half supported him. Kinski didnt move. Behind his bangs, his eyes were wide and expressionless. I took one step forward. Kinski's eyes flickered to what I just did and stared at my foot. Gradually, He lifted his left foot, and took one step forward. I smiled. Kinski's mouth twitched a bit. He gingerly brought forward his other foot, then the other, and began to slowly walk. I smiled and walked with him. Kinski twitched a couple times, but continued to walk.

Suddenly, he began to shake uncontrollably. He moved away from me and curled up into a little ball on the ground again. I walked up to him and placed a wing on his shoulder. Kinski flinched. I sighed softly. We needed to keep moving. Kinski's state of shock and trauma was not helping at all. Kinski turned his head up to me with his huge eyes. He was scared.

I could imagine hundreds of horrible images, flickering and flashing right through his little mind. Seeing things he didnt want to see, but had no control over. He was like a child after a nightmare...except this nightmare was still going over in his head. He couldnt shake the feeling away...

I felt my heart hurt as I knelt down beside him and hugged him. "Kinski, please snap out of this...it's ok..." I said. I choked the tears away. It was frustrating to see him like this. I wanted to help him. I wanted to get him out of his traumatized state. How long was that going to take? Weeks? Months? Years?

Suddenly, I felt Kinski shift his upper torso to me. His arms slowly, and lightly move across my back and finally rest around me. I sat there with him, fighting the tears. Why did this have to happen? Why couldnt Blor just leave me and my family alone? Why did he have to use me to experiment on and toss me aside like a piece of trash? Why did I have to...I gritted my teeth in frustration as tears ran down my face. Stupid tears! I hated crying. It was stupid and pointless, especially now. Crying wasnt going to help us defeat Blor or anything!

Suddenly, Kinski's arms loosned from me and came to my face I moved my head away from his chest and began to wipe my wet eyes with the back of my wing. I felt Kinski's furry hands brush past my wing and touch the sides of my face. He gently turned my head as he cupped my face in his hands. His eyes stared at me. I stared back. He gingerly lifted his left hand up and carefully wiped the rest of my tears away.

I studied his face. His eyes were hidden, but I could see them shifting nervously. His hands were trembling near the sides of my face. I slowly reached up and placed my wings on top of his hands. He was with me, but still having to fight the imaginary monsters in his mind.

Progressively, we got up onto our feet. I lowered my wings from his, but Kinski's hands still rested against the side of my face. His shaking hands reached up and brushed away a loose strand of hair as he stared at me. He seemed as if he were studying my face. His little shudders seemed to disappear, as if seeing me was making the horrible images go away. I didnt know what he was thinking, but I hoped his mind was fixing itself.

Suddenly, his hands quivered as they broke away and he lowered his head. I grabbed him before he could go back down again. We slowly walked away from the small town in the distance as the sun burned high in the sky...


	26. Chapter 26: The Demon Monster

_The town of Dirt..._

_The soldiers bolted past their master as they hurried off to their jobs. Blor, in Jake's body, grinned down at his scared little mortal soldiers as he loomed over them. His head came up near the thatched rooftops of the town buildings as he slithered down the street. The morning sun came up from the mountains behind Blor, but was unable to stretch its' rays past the thick dark clouds to him. _

_Blor grinned to himself as he slithered down the street. Suddenly, Blor's eyes narrowed when he heard a clang behind him. He turned his head and stared down at the metal gatling gun that represented the end of Jake's tail._

_He gave it a shake. A couple bullets rattled inside. Blor frowned a bit._

_"How doesss Jake sssstand thisss thing?" he muttered to himself as he stared at it. He sighed and lowered the tail down. He turned his head over to the outskirts of the town, out to the never ending desert. He frowned a bit from the extended time of waiting for the group of soldiers he had sent out to find Banshee and Kinski. How long did it take to retrieve two mortals?_

_Suddenly, a strange sound interrupted his thoughts. He tuned his head to the entrance of the underground mines. He frowned a bit and slithered over. He stopped at the mine's dumbwaiter. A soldier stood guard. "_

_What'sss going on down there?" Blor asked the soldier. The soldier averted his eyes, but answered his leader. "I have n-no idea, sir...b-but the men down below h-have it all under-" Kaboom! A loud explosion interrupted the soldier from underneath his feet._

_"...control..." finished the soldier. Blor frowned. Suddenly, the sound of grinding gears and screeching chains was heard. The mine's elevator was coming up. Blor and the soldier watched as the elevator finally appeared with a handful of soldiers and chained citizens. Suddenly, dark cloud of dust formed around the elevator and continued to rise from below. The creatures tumbled out of the elevator, covered in a thin layer of dirt and dust and were coughing. Blor bared is teeth in frustration as he watched the small group file out of the elevator._

_Blor bared his teeth angrily. Something was going on down there, and he needed to fix it before it got more out of control._

_"Sssend me down there! Now!" he snarled angrily to the soldier in charge of the elevator. The soldier flinched in fear and turned to the lever behind him. Blor slithered into the elevator and coiled himself snugly into the wooden box. The soldier pushed the lever down. The sound of grinding gears and screeching chains was heard as Blor descended down to the mines beneath the town. _

_The wooden box began to groan and creak from Blor's/Jake's body. The box was only meant to hold about ten to fifteen creatures, not a huge demon in a predator's body that made it weigh to over fifty creatures. The boards began to crack and splinter, but was able to hold to the end. When the elevator screeched to a stop, Blor slithered out and scanned the scene._

_In the mines, with its' tunnels connecting and combining into the aquifer's tunnels, were pith black. The only light came from the little hunks of white wax from the lanterns which hung above and in the wedges of the rocks. Blor winced at the fain glowing lights. He hated light. He was born in darkness. Peaceful darkness..._

_Blor slithered forward. As he did, the lights in the lanterns were snuffed out by an invisible force. As he made his way down the narrow tunnel, the lanterns seemed to get more and more brighter. Blor cursed under his breath as he winced from the blinding light._

_His sensitive eyes began to relax as the invisible force caught up with him and snuffed out all the candles, leaving only a few to glow a dull faint glow. The tunnel opened up into a huge room like area. Across the way, was another tunnel, except this one was bigger, and held all the chained up slaved citizens._

_The atmosphere was thick with the aftermath of the explosion. A lot of chained citizens were still filing out of the tunnel, covered in layers of dust and were coughing up a storm. Over the coughing and murmurs of the crowd, a woman screamed for her child. "Petunia! Petunia! Where's my baby?!" she screamed as she fought against the soldiers, keeping her from breaking away from the crowd of chained citizens in order to find her daughter._

_A couple soldiers were still inside with a couple other citizens. The soldiers' shouts and curses echoed in the tunnels of the mines. Blor slighted forward. The citizens low chat stopped dead and gasped at the sight of Blor in Jake's body. They quickly moved to the farthest edges of the tunnels from him._

_Their fear made Blor grin with pleasure. He took in a deep breath of their fear and exhaled. He loved their fear. It was strong. Blor entered into the thickest part of where the explosion occurred and stopped._

_Inside, there was overturned mine carts with chunks of rocks tumbling out. A couple lanterns were knocked from their places and broken. Pieces of shattered glass surrounded their lantern bodies. The atmosphere was thick with dust, but Blor was able to see. Right there in front of him, he found the culprit. A little rodent girl around the age of five. Petunia._

_"Mommy! mommy!" she screamed and began to cry as the soldiers grabbed her arms and roughly pulled her up to her feet. "Let her go! She only a child!" yelled an elderly rodent as he came up to the soldiers with his chains rattling softly along the ground. The soldiers ignored Gerald as they continued to pull Petunia away._

_The old rodent narrowed his eyes. With that, he used the extra length of chains that bound his wrists as a weapon, and smacked the nearest soldier with them. The soldier screamed in pain from the impact of the metal chain and let go of Petunia. Petunia began to bolt from the soldiers as Gerald attacked the soldiers._

_Petunia ran, but then stopped and screamed in horror as she faced the huge snake, looming over her. Gerald stopped and turned to Petunia. His old eyes trailed up the snakes body, and met with the to, cold glowing eyes. Suddenly, he felt a couple of hands grab him roughly and shoved him down to his knees._

_Blor lowered his head down to Petunia and grinned, revealing a row of sharp teeth._

_"What a sssweet little girl..." he said as he nudged his nose against her softly. Petunia froze in her tracks and began to breathe heavily. Her tears rolled down her face as the demon in Jake's body coiled around her. _

_"Th-that sweet little girl n-nearly blew this whole place up," stuttered a soldier. Blor turned his head to the soldier, then back to Petunia. Petunia was crying harder. "I-it w-was an accident...I-I didnt m-m-mean-" stuttered Petunia as she tried to talk over her crying and her fear._

_Blor shushed the girl softly and ran the tip of the gatling gun tail lightly over her short black hair. Smoothing the loose strands of hair out of her eyes. Petunia continued to cry, she was so scared._

_"Leave her alone you monster!" yelled a foreign voice. Blor turned his head over to where the soldiers were. One soldier trembled and pointed to Gerald, who was glaring at Blor. Blor stared at the old rodent. With that, he uncoiled himself from the trembling little girl and made his way over to the soldiers and Gerald._

_He loomed over Gerald._

_"Releasse him," commanded Blor. The soldiers did as they were told and moved away from Gerald and made their way around their master, and out of the tunnel. Blor coiled and uncoiled as he stared down at the old rodent. _

_"Monsster? Isss that what you called me, sssslave?" he asked Gerald. Gerald slowly got to his feet and bravely glared back at the demon. "Yes, I did. You dont frighten me," he said. Blor's expression changed. His eyes narrowed. Gerald was telling the truth, Blor couldn't feel one lick of fear inside the old man. Blor hissed and bared his teeth at the old man as he brought his head forward to Gerald. _

_"What make's you have the gutsss to say that to my face, ssslave?!" snarled Blor. Gerald didnt flinch as he stared down Blor. "You going to lose in end," said Gerald. Blor stopped baring his teeth. Gerald continued. "Evil never wins. We never fail. You will lose in end, monster," said Gerald sharply. Blor moved his head back a bit. He coiled and uncoiled as he stared at Gerald. _

_"Iss that ssso...? Well we'll sssee about that, ssslave..." With that, Blor lifted the end of the gatling gun and aimed it straight at Gerald's chest. "No!" screamed Petunia, but was stopped when Blor shifted his coils, blocking her way. Gerald calmly stared down at the gun. Behind Blor, he could hear the townspeople, and his market trader friends screaming and crying and struggling in the soldiers' arms. They didnt want him to die..._

_Gerald blinked back a couple tears and sighed. He was getting too old for this kind of stuff anyway...but, he did have a good run, and got to meet a lot of wonderful people and got to help out in the battle when the Rebels rose against Bill. Gerald took a deep breath and straightened up as he lifted his head up to Blor. With that, he pulled out a rectangle piece of material made of silk and held it up high. On the smooth, shiny gold cloth was Banshee's symbol. The Rebel symbol._

_"You will lose! Rebels will win!" he yelled, then had a big smile on his face. The citizens and Petunia stared past Blor and saw the symbol on the scrap of cloth in Gerald's furry hand. Blor roared with rage._

_Bang!_

_"Noooo!" screamed Petunia, along with everyone else. Gerald's body fell backwards and he collapsed. A pool of blood began to from around the little old rodents body. Petunia's heart skipped a beat at the horrible scene and fell to her knees and began to bawl. The male citizens got out of hand and began to fight the soldiers who kept them from going anywhere. Blor stared down at the gatling gun and smirked._

_"__I'm ssstarting to like thisss thing," he said as he blew the smoke that was trailing out of the end. His eyes flickered down to the small, silk piece of cloth with the symbol on it. He lowered the gatling gun and used it to scoop up the piece of cloth. He lifted the piece of cloth up to his eyes and he stared down at it. The symbol looked so familiar...where did he- Blor blinked, then bared his teeth with rage. His yellow, black slitted eyes all the sudden began to turn into a deep dark angry red. _

_He curled the end of the tail around the piece of cloth and held it in a clenched way. Then he turned and slithered past Petunia and over to the brawl. "Sssstop!" he yelled over the fight. Instantly, everyone stopped. He glared down at everyone. "If anyone elssse wantsss to tell me that the ssso called Rebels will win, pleasssse...ssspeak up," he said sarcastically as he lifted the tail gun._

_No one spoke._

_Blor bared his teeth as his eyes flickered in colors of fire. "Good...becaussse...till the last days of your life, I dont want to hear anyone mention it to me!" he yelled. Then he calmed down and turned to Gerald's body. Petunia was next to his lifeless body, crying her eyes out. Then, Blor slowly turned his head back to the shaking crowd. "Or...you'll end up like your friend over there..."_

_With that, he lifted the scrap of cloth with the symbol drawn on it. "Sssstarting now...and to the end of thisss pathetic mortal planet'sss life...the Rebelsss are finissshed..." Blor crumpled the cloth into a ball and chucked it to the dirt ground. He lifted the gun and shot the scrap of cloth. He turned his head to everyone's face. Every citizens face was frozen in a state of horror, fear, and sadness. The red anger from Blor's eyes gradually faded away and went back to its normal glowing yellow. Blor straightened up and smirked as he loomed over the group._

_"Get thessse slaves back to work," he ordered the soldiers. The soldiers silently herded the chained townspeople and market traders back to their places. Blor turned his head over to Petunia and the lifeless Gerald one last time, before smiling to himself and going back to the mine elevator and going back up to the surface..._

_..._

_Blor slithered out of the elevator and took a deep breath of fresh air. He grinned as he looked around the town. Just as he did, his eyes flickered up over to the entrance of the town. He saw a small group of roadrunners coming toward him. When they came closer to the town, Blor could see that it was the group of soldiers he had sent to find Banshee and Kinski. The soldiers slowed to a stop in front of their master._

_From the looks on their faces, he could tell that they had failed, and were afraid of the punishment that was coming to them. Blor flicked out his forked tongue and glared down at the soldiers. "_

_Ssso, you found them...but you were unable to apprehend them...iss that right?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer to his own question. _

_The soldiers averted their eyes from their master. Their faces were bleeding and their suits were tattered and stained in blood and dirt. Blor bared his teeth a bit, but then sighed and shook his head. As he did, a small smile began to form on his face. He laughed softly._

_You are more powerful then I thought...little Anera, thought Blor as he lifted his head and looked past the soldiers and to where the mountains were. __The bright blue sky looked like it was fighting against the black clouds of darkness that hovered above the town._

_Blor shifted his "borrowed" body in the hard packed cold dirt as he stared off toward the never ending desert. He turned back to the trembling soldiers._

_"Go and get another group of sssoldiers to find Anera and Kinssski..." Blor ordered. The guards nodded and quickly dispersed. _

_Blor grinned as he turned to the horizon of the desert._

_"I will find you...little Anera...no matter where you hide..." he whispered, then laughed softly. _

_With that, he turned over to the building that a mayor once worked inside and slithered across the street toward it. He used his nose to push the door open, and made his way up the stairs to the huge room. Pieces of glass was seen scattered everywhere from his talk with his experiment. Thinking back on that conversation made Blor chuckle softly to himself. He slowed to a stop and lifted his head up to the chained up figure near the wall._

_Mr. Black was beaten and bruised from Blor's mortal soldiers when they forced him to cooperate. Mr. Black lifted up his head to Blor, who now controlled Jake's body. Mr. Black flinched at the sight of Blor's glowing eyes. Blor grinned, as he bared his fangs. "__Hello, Mr. Black. We finally meet."_

_Mr. Black lowered his head and averted his eyes, which hid behind the cracked lenses of his goggles._

_Blor slithered closer to the trembling beaten spider and lowered his down in front of him. "Now that we are acquainted...I want sssomething of yourssss...__ssomething that you created..."_

* * *

**Apologies for killing off Gerald, but he was a great character, and died for his and everyone elses freedom. He will be remembered, and never forgotten... The next chapter will be up soon...hopefully. I'm going to be busy this week, but I will continue this story :) So dont worry. **


	27. Chapter 27: The Hermits

**Sorry about the late chapter, but this one is a long one, so I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

_The desert..._

The sun burned brightly over our heads as we walked over a couple rocks and dead clumps of plants. Kinski's pink tongue lolled out of his mouth in exhaustion and from the heat. Finally, he stopped. He pulled away from me and collapsed to the ground on all fours, panting.

Then, he wrapped his arms around his stomach. I stared down at his strange little gesture, but then my ears perked up to the loud groans from his stomach. He was hungry. Suddenly, my stomach growled in hunger. I then realized that we didnt eat breakfast, because of the sudden encounter with the soldiers.

I decided it was the best time to stop and eat breakfast. We were near a strange looking plant that loomed over us. It looked like it had a crown of leaves on top and a pair of eyes staring down at us. I ignored it and went back to opening the bundle. As long as the strange plant gave us shade, I was fine.

I went down on my knees next to Kinski and untied the knots in the tablecloth and unfurled it. The supplies tumbled out and lightly brushed up against my knees. I picked out the loaf of bread, the box of matches, can of beans, and the pot. I got some dead plants and started a fire. As the fire began to burn brightly, I took out the two plates and the canteen of water and began to wash away all the old food that stuck to the plates and placed them on a elongated flat rock to dry in the sun.

I poured the beans into the pot and cooked them over the fire. I pulled out the two plates, and placed the bread on top. My eyes flickered over to the jam and decided to place it on the pieces of bread. Kinski stayed in his little ball, but watched me as I tried my best in preparing food.

When I poured the beans onto one of the plates, and plopped a piece of bread with jam on top, Kinski's head lifted up a bit. I placed the plate of food down under his head. He trembled, and his head twitched. He tried to eat, but couldnt seem to focus. I pulled out the package of jerky and moved over to him. Kinski closed his eyes tightly and lowered his head close to the dirt.

"Kinski, Kinski it's ok. I'm here," I said softly as I placed a wing on his shoulder. Kinski whimpered a bit before looking back up to me. I used the piece of jerky as a spoon again, and began to feed him. Every bite he took was slow, and he winced everytime he chewed.

When he was done with the beans, I offered him the chunk of bread with jam. He stared at it for a minute, then slowly opened his mouth. He ate the bread, little by little, till it was gone. He shivered a bit then lowered his head. I offered him some water, but he just closed his eyes and hid his face behind his blonde bangs.

I sighed and stared down at the water. I lifted the canteen up to my lips and gulped some water down before eating the food off my plate. I pulled out another piece of jerky from the jerky bag and began to scoop up the half cold beans into my mouth and scarfed down a chunk of bread with a bit of jam smeared on the top. After I was done, I removed the clean plate from my lap and stretched my legs out. Kinski stayed in his little hunched position as I sat next to him and stared out to the open desert scenery in the shade.

The light, tan colored desert stretched out among us, as the bright blue sky gave color to the dead land. The sun burned down, giving the dead leaves and twigs on the plants a tarnished gold color. Suddenly, a strange shaped shadow ran across the flat land. I looked up, just in time to see a little black speck in the sky. A hawk? I couldnt tell because the harsh sun blinded my perspective so I had to look away.

I looked over at Kinski, who was still in his little ball. I couldnt imagine how he could stay in a little ball without having to stretch his legs out.

Suddenly, the shadow came back and I looked up, just in time to see a little black speck in the shape of a bird fly by. I flinched when I heard a faint screech. Did the hawk see us? I didnt want to take any chances. I quickly got up and began to pack all the supplies back into the tablecloth and bundled it all back up. Then I turned to Kinski and touched the top of his head.

"Kinski, come on we have to go. Theres a hawk," I said. He didnt move. I looked up, just in time to see the hawk circle back and screech again. It was coming. I turned back to Kinski and nudged his shoulder. "Kinski! Listen to me! there's a hawk!" I yelled at him. Kinski didnt look up at me, his head was still buried in his folded arms.

I snarled and gave him a rough shove. He fell over and quickly rolled and got up on his feet. His eyes were wide and he stared straight at me. Then a loud screech was heard above us and his eyes went up. He gasped and took a step back, thus tripping and falling to the ground. I turned back, just in time to see the hawk flap its wings and fly toward us. I gasped and ran. I grabbed Kinski's wrist firmly and we both bolted.

The hawk flew right behind us. I didnt turn back as I searched around for a place to hide. Kinski began to slow down and he fell. I stopped and whipped around. "Kinski!" I screamed. Kinski tried getting up, but heard the hawk flap its' wings and land right behind him. He turned and began to breathe heavily in fear as he sat there, frozen in fear. The hawk flapped its wings and got ready to eat him. I ran over to Kinski and screamed up at the hawk.

The hawk screeched as it was all the sudden shoved back by an invisible force. In that small amount of time, I stooped down and grabbed Kinski's arm and tried lifting him up. "Come on, Kinski, let's go!" I said. Kinski's chest was rising and falling as he stared wide eyed at the hawk, who was now getting up. The hawk's dark red feathers ruffled a bit, then straightened out by themselves as the bird shook its head, then turned a beady eye to us.

Kinski was frozen in his state of shock as I tried to get him to move. The hawk opened its' beak, and screeched at us angrily as it flapped its' wings in an aggressive manner and came charging toward us. "Kinski! get up now!" I screamed. Kinski didnt move. I huffed angrily and let go of his arm. I turned to the hawk and narrowed my eyes angrily. My size began to rapidly grow and the dress I wore teared away as I transformed into the Nightmare.

The hawk didnt hesitate and flapped its wings and began to use its' talons. The sharp talons tore through my thick light brown fur. I screamed in pain then opened my mouth and bit down hard on one of the hawk's wings. The hawk screeched and began to use it's beak to slash at my head. I let go and flapped my wings. The huge bird did the same and we came at each other.

I was about the same size as the hawk as I wrestled with it and tried my best to grab ahold of its neck with my sharp teeth. The hawk screeched and squacked angrily as it began to slash it's talons against my stomach, I screamed at the bird's face, causing it to fly backwards and roll along the dirt ground. I collapsed and fell on my back. My stomach was shredded and blood was beginning to gush out.

I turned my head over to where Kinski was. He was crouching behind the strange plant thing that looked like it was related to the cactus, but didnt have any spikes sticking out from it. I sighed with relief, happy that he was safe and out of harms way. I slowly got up onto all fours, but then faltered and collapsed.

The pain coursed through my body as I laid there. The hawk got up from were it fell and glared at me. Its' beak was cracked and red blood was dripping down from the corners. The bird flapped its wings. I was afraid it was going to come at me again, but instead, the bird decided to leave and flew up into the blue sky. A couple of feathers and blood were scattered about where the hawk once was. The blood quickly dried up and the reddish brown feathers fluttered in the breeze.

The pain attacked me as I slowly got up and limped on all fours over to where Kinski was hiding. He crouched behind the strange plant. Shaking in fear as he gripped the plant for protection and had his head down. I collapsed down next to him and felt my body, slowly shrink back down to its normal size. I had my head down, my forehead lightly touching the ground and my wings close to my sides.

My breathing was slow, and heavy from exhaustion. The fur on my back, as well as my front, was drenched in my own blood as I laid there. Pain jolted through my tired body, I didnt want to move or do anything. The sun baked my back as Kinski and I stayed close to our strange protector. The tall plant seemed to watch over us as we laid underneath it. Keeping a close eye on us, and making sure nothing would come to harm us...

...

The day began to grow late as Kinski and I walked across the desert. Our shadows stretched behind us as we dragged our feet over the little dark colored rocks and dirt. I turned my head to look behind us. The town was still barely visible. The sun burned brightly over the purple mountains as we continued on. My left wing was over Kinski's shoulders to keep him from going into a ball, but it also helped me stay up as well. My body was screaming in pain underneath one of the blankets that I wrapped around myself before we began to walk again.

The winds were starting to pick up and rustled through our hair. I shivered as the cold sliced through me and I pulled the blanket and the bundle of supplies closer to me with my other wing. The sun sank behind the mountains, and made the whole desert go dark.

Kinski winced when the wind began to blow a litte harder, causing the sand to be picked up. Our walking began to slow down a bit as it became harder and harder to move from the sudden sand being blown into our faces. The blanket around me became harder to control as I tried to keep it wrapped around me. Finally, Kinski couldnt handle it any longer and collapsed, causing me to fall too.

"Kinsk-" I started, but got sand in my mouth, causing me to cough. I lowered my head, trying to stop myself from coughing. Kinski scooted coser to me and silently nudged his head against mine. I sighed and hugged the bundle of supplies against my chest with one wing, and placed my other wing over Kinski's shoulders and pulling him closer to me. We sat there, shivering in the cold for what seemed to be hours, but it must have been my imagination. Suddenly, Kinski began to fidget uncomfortably.

I looked up. Kinski was looking behind me. His eyes were wide and he started to move away. I turned my head. Even though it was dark, I could still make the end of a shotgun barrel. My eyes trailed up along the barrel, and found myself face to face with a male crow with an earth colored robe around him. Multiple handmade necklaces with different strands of beads, feathers, and other sorts of little knick knacks clinked softly against each other in the wind.

"Who are ya?" the crow asked, still aiming his shot gun at us. Kinski stood frozen and began to tremble again. I slowly got uprigt and pulled Kinski up to his feet. The end of the shotgun followed us up then stopped at our chests. "W-we're from the town of Dirt, s-sir, and w-we n-need a place to s-stay," I stuttered from the cold winds. The crow gave me a look, then turned his focus over to Kinski, who had his head down and looked like he was going to be sick.

"Whas' wrong with yer friend 'ere?" he asked. I turned my head to Kinski and lightly smoothed his bangs out of his eyes. "He's in a type of trauma," I answered truthfully. The crow stared at us for a minute, before finally lowering his gun.

"I have a place not far from 'ere. You two can stay fer the nigh'...if it's allrigh' wit my wife an' all," he added before turning around and going the opposite direction. I placed a wing around Kinski and held his shaking arms and helped him move forward. We both followed the black crow through the cold winds to his home.

...

After about a couple minutes, I could see something through the darkness. An intact cow skull leaning against a looming cactus and a couple boulders. The eye sockets had fabric, and were tied down from the winds. The skull had strange looking colorful designs all around it's grinning mouth and where the eyes once were. A couple wind chimes made of stained colored glass, bone, and pieces of metal rattled and clinked loudly in the small, forming sandstorm. The black crow approched the door and opened it for us as we just came up behind him.

"Come inside and set him down at the table," the crow ordered me. I nodded and walked inside. A table and two chairs sat right next to a roaring fire. I carefully set Kinski down in the chair near the fire. Kinski continued to shudder and twitch, even though he was near the warmth. I sat down in the other chair across from him and looked around the room.

The fire flickered in the room, giving off an eerie shadowy look to the place. The place was crammed with all sorts of strange oddities and curious wonders. Multiple dream catchers hung from the ceiling of the inside of the cow skull. Different animal furs (I was hoping from dead animals and not live ones) covered the floor, and arrowheads, feathers decorated staffs, canes, frames, and furniture in the room.

Wind chimes made of dead plant branches and dyed colored quartz hung near the tightly sealed sockets, but clinked softly inside, even from the wind. Above the fireplace that was decorated with the upper and lower jaw of a bobcat skull, were handmade wooden shelves, crammed with all sorts of colorful, irresdescent mason jars filled with herbs, goo, teeth, little beetles, eyes, and things I couldnt make out through the sickly yellow merky liquid.

The male crow placed his shotgun down near the door and came up next to me. "My wife and I live out here alone. We've never really had guests in a long time."

I wonder why.

Then the crow turned to me, then took a step back in startlement. I blinked in confusion, and fear. He gave me a look of shock. "Wh-whas' wrong wit yer eyes?" he asked. My eyes widened a bit, which made the crow take another step back. I quickly averted my eyes away. I began to realize that my eyes were not normal. The Dirtonians were used to strange things, but people from the outside were not. I began to feel horrible and wanted to rip my stupid demon eyes out of their sockets.

Just then, a female crow came through a beaded curtain from another room that was the base of the cactus and stopped when she saw us. She wore a robe similar to Jasper, except hers had more colors like reds and oranges and lighter shades of brown. She had a huge collection of different types of necklaces with beads, bone, feathers, metal, stones, crystals, mini dreamcatchers, teeth and other strange things. Multiple gold bracelets jingled around her wings and feet. Her eyes were dark and looked very furious.

"Jasper! Who are these people?! Why are they in our house?" she snapped angrily. The crow, named Jasper, turned his head to his wife. "I found them just outside our house. The bat said they were from that weird Dirt town and they need a place to stay fer the night," Jasper explained. The female crow gave her husband a look before coming over to us and examining us.

I continued to keep my head down, feeling horrible for having demon eyes. I didnt want to tell them that they were demon eyes, or they would kick us out and think I was an evil creature of sin from hell or something. The female crow came over to Kinski, who just sat there, staring at the fire. His eyes were expressionless and didnt blink. She lightly brushed her wing across his shoulder, which made him snap out of his hypmotized state and jumped out of his seat. He stared wide eyed at the two startled crows.

"Don't give 'im a heart attack, Eartha, that boy is in a traumatized state. Tha's what the girl bat said," Jasper explained. The female crow, now named Eartha, stared at Kinski with a look of small disgust. "Kinda ugly lookin'" she muttered. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she slowly came up to Kinski. Kinski took a step back, but then stopped when he realized he couldnt go any further, or he would be burning his tail off.

Eartha carefully reached her wings up to his head. Kinski's eyes widened in fear and he began to breathe heavily. Eartha touched his forhead. Kinski froze, the sensitive nerves in his face twitched but he stayed, frozen to the spot. Eartha's wings lightly moved over his forehead, then the sides of his face, then found their way along his deformity. Kinski flinched away and stared at Eartha with mixed, unreadable emotions, but I knew he didnt like it. Eartha stared up at him, then lowered her wing then turned around and disappeared through the beaded curtain. The curtains clacked loudly against each other.

When she was gone, Kinski collapsed.

I quickly got up and tried picking him up, but it was very hard since I had the blanket around me, and that my wings were still in a lot of pain from the fight with the hawk. "Here, you sit down, I'll get him up," said Jasper as he picked Kinski up off the floor and placed him back in his chair. After that, Jasper turned to me. I looked down at my wings, which were bleeding again. Jasper quietly knelt down next to me and lightly ran his fingers over my wings. I flinched in pain at his touch. He narrowed his brown eyes a bit. "What happened?" he asked. I stared down at my bleeding wings.

"I got attacked by a hawk," I answered in a small voice.

I could feel Jasper's eyes burning through my head as I kept my head down. Finally, he walked away and went over to the shelves of jars filled with the strange things and began muttering to himself. Eartha came back through the beaded curtain. Her arms were filled with jars and bowls of strange ingrediants. "So you say he's in a traumatized state, right?" she asked me as she placed the bowls and jars of things down on the table we sat at.

I nodded. Eartha's wings moved quick as she poured some water into the biggest bowl, and began to measure different types of strange ingrediants and herbs with multiple finger like roots into the bowl and stirred.

"Well, I think I have something just for him. It's a special broth that could help clear his mind and get him out of his state," she said. When she was done stirring, she went over to where Jasper was and pulled a small jar off from the shelf and opened it up. Instantly, a foul smell snaked out of the jar and filled our noses. Kinski flinched at the smell and stuck his tongue out as a sign of disgust. I placed a wing over my nose and winced from the horrible smell.

After that, she closed the jar and placed it back on the shelf. Then she came back and carried the big bowl of ingrediants over to a huge metal pot that hung over the fire and poured the stuff into it.

Jasper's eyes lit up and he reached up and pulled a thin blue bottle from the top shelf and came back over to me. "Here, some healing liquid to place over those wounds of yers. Better to use it when yer takin' a bath," he said and handed it over to me. I thnked him and stared down at the bottle. "I made it myself," Jasper added. I turned the blue bottle over in my wings and stared down at it.

After a couple minutes of stirring the pot, the metal pot began to make noises. Eartha pulled it out, placed it down, and poured the healing broth into a bowl for Kinski. Kinski stared down at it. Thick herbs and strange leafy bits of plants floated inside the steaming hot bowl. Eartha placed a spoon down on the table and watched him. Kinski's body shook, then stopped.

"Go ahead," Eartha said. Kinski didnt say anything, or even move. The tips of his droopy ears rested on the table as he sat in his hunched form. I finally got up and picked up the spoon. Kinski followed the spoon with his eyes, and stared at it when it came in front of his mouth.

"Kinski, please eat, Eartha made this to help you," I said softly. Jasper and Eartha watched as Kinski hesitated, before finally opening his mouth and allowing the spoonful of special broth into his mouth. His mouth closed then the end of the spoon of broth entered his mouth and I pulled it out. Kinski's expressions of fear and daze disappeared and were replaced with the look of extreme disgust. Kinski's eyes were wide and he looked like he was really going to be sick.

I reacted first and placed my wings over his mouth and nose, forcing him to swallow the broth. Kinski grabbed my wings and struggled, but swallowed and removed my wings from his face. He coughed and gasped as he leaned over the table. His tongue was hanging open as he gagged and tried getting the taste out of his mouth.

Well...I guess that got him out of his traumatized state.

...

The night wore on and I got Kinski to drink the rest of the broth. Kinski still wouldnt talk, but he was slowly getting out out of his trembling moments and didnt look like he was in mental pain or anything anymore. Jasper showed me the bathroom, which was a human mug with a crack on the side and words saying 'I love coffee'. The mug was filled with hot water surrounded by a bunch of sewn fabrics that acted as the curtain. I poured the healing liquid Jasper gave to me into the tub and went inside. The pain began to settle down a bit as I laid inside the tub. It felt great taking a bath again.

After that, I dried myself off, and Eartha gave me some earth colored robes for me to wear. "You can take them. I saw how you were just wearing that blanket, and I think you need them more," she said to me, but something in her voice made me doubt her words. I thanked her anyway and went down to the guest room that we were staying in. There was only one bed, so Kinski and I had to share.

Kinski had already sprawled himself on the bed on top of the covers and was sleeping away. He snored softly as he laid on his stomach with his arms and legs stretched over the sides of the small bed. I made my way into the dimmed room and got into bed next to him. Kinski flinched, but then relaxed and continued to sleep soundly. Just as I was blowing out the dying candle and getting under the covers, I heard Jasper and Eartha's voice from the other room.

"I have a horrible feeling about those two, Jasper. I dont like that bat girl with those creepy eyes...and there's something about that hunchback that seems awfully familar to me," Eartha said. "Yeah, I know, Eartha. I have the same feelin' too, but they're only stayin' here fer the nigh'. When mornin' comes, they'll be gone an' on their way...I'll make sure of it," Jasper said. Then I heard the sound of a shotgun being cocked, proving his point. I flinched from under the covers.

With that, I heard them go into their own beds and blow out the candles in their room. I stared up at the ceiling. Unable to go to sleep after hearing what the two crows just said. I slightly turned my head over to Kinski and watched him sleep. His mouth was slightly hanging open and his messy bangs were over his closed eyes. I pulled my left wing out from under the covers and lightly stroked the top of his head.

Knowing that he was there made me feel at ease. My eyes began to feel heavy. Then, I found myself drifting away into dreamland...


	28. Chapter 28: Whole Again

...

_...I dreamed that I was walking through a strange, unfamilar group of houses. The houses were small, but intact. It seemed deserted, and unwelcoming. Just then, I noticed something glowing above one of the doors of one little house. I approached it and looked up. It was my symbol, burning brightly like fire. I took a another step closer to the door. My wing reached out to the doorknob. Suddenly, strange loud sounds were heard, and my dream began to morph and go out of focus..._

My dream disappeared and I woke up to the loud sounds of knocking. Kinski jolted and sat upright, awake and breathing heavily. "Vha?" he blurted out. Suddenly, I felt my throat tighten up and tears formed in my eyes. It seemed like years since I heard his voice, and I missed it so much. Our heads turned to the door that was slightly ajar. We listened as Jasper and Eartha jumped out of their bed, and rushed out of the room and to the front door where the banging was coming from.

At first I thought it was just the wind, but then I realized that the wind had just ceased, and the wind chimes werent making their strange music outside. The door opened and I could hear Jasper's voice. "May I help you gents?" he asked.

My heart stopped when I heard a deep voice. "We are looking for two runaways. They are outlaws, and are extremely dangerous," the voice said. It was one of Blor's men. Blor's men had found us. My ears perked up when I heard the shuffling of papers. I heard Eartha gasp. I assumed they gave her two pictures of us. I turned to Kinski. Kinski slowly turned his head to me with a nervous look on his face.

We had leave now.

"I knew that hunchback looked familiar! They're over here," said Eartha, then the shuffling of heavy footsteps was heard. Kinski and I quickly jumped out of bed. I quickly grabbed our bundle of supplies and hurried out the door after Kinski. Kinski bolted down through the house to the back. We both ran into another room, hoping it had a back door.

Dead end.

Suddenly, the group of soldiers appreared at the doorway in the room."Git them!" yelled the soldier with the deep voice. The soldiers charged toward us. I took a deep breath and screamed at the men. The huge force sent them flying backwards and crashed through the wall and the door. With that, I turned around, and used my screaming ability to knock down the wall and made a back door.

Without hesitation, Kinski and I ran through the huge gapping hole I made and ran away from the house and out into the desert. It was still dark outside. The sun's rays were barely visible behind the jagged mountains as we kept running. I turned my head to make sure we werent being followed.

I saw a couple soldiers running out of the gap in the back, and chasing after us. I turned to Kinski and handed him the supplies in the wrapped tablecloth. "Here, hold this." Kinski accepted the supplies and watched as I began to grow bigger. I slowed down so Kinski could climb onto my back. With that, I flapped my huge wings and took off.

The sun climbed its way and made it to the top of the mountains in the distance as I flew over ginormous, desert rock formations and tall cacti. After a while, my wings began to feel like they were on fire.

When I landed, I looked down at my wings. The bullet wounds were still healing, but fresh blood was seeping from them. I had to stop flying till my wings were fully healed. My thoughts then focused to Kinski when I realized that he was still on my back. I turned my head to him. Kinski gripped my thick mane tightly. His eyes were tired, but alert. His furry fingers loosned around the bag of supplies and they tumbled down the side of my back and crashed to the ground. The tablecloth unfurled, causing the supplies to tumble out. I stared at the bag of supplies, then turned my focus back to Kinski. Kinski just sat there, hunched and frozen.

I slowly laid down, causing my stomach to touch the cold ground. Kinski stared down at the ground, but still didnt jump off. After waiting for him to jump off, I decided to just change back to my normal size. I closed my eyes and felt my body shrink back down.

I felt Kinski eventually slide off and sat next to me. When I was back to my normal size, I opened my eyes and pulled the warm colored shawl like clothing, that Eartha let me have, around me tightly. Suddenly, I felt Kinski's arms wrap around me. I turned my head up to him. His face was hidden behind his bangs.

"Kinski?" I asked softly. Kinski hugged me tighter.

I closed my eyes and nudged my head under his. Kinski lowered his head closer to mine. His droopy ears lightly brushed up against the sides of my face as we sat there. I lifted up my wings and wrapped them around him. I was so happy to have him with me. Suddenly, my wings touched something. It felt like string, tied around Kinski's neck. I opened my eyes and moved my head away from Kinski. Kinski blinked and looked down at me.

My wings and eyes trailed down his neck, then met at the end. It was a pouch, a small dark brown leather pouch with a leather cord around Kinski's neck as a necklace. The pouch had a small bulge, showing that it had something inside, but I couldnt tell what. I narrowed my eyes a bit in confusion. I didnt remeber seeing him with that around his neck before. I looked up at him.

"Where did you get this?" I asked Kinski, holding the small leather pouch in my wings. Kinski's arms loosened from my waist, then rested on top of my wings that held the pouch. He stared down at the pouch, then lifted the pouch from my wings. "...Jasper...he gave it...to me...last nigh'" he said in a very soft, low voice. I blinked away the sudden tears of joy and stared at him.

"Why?" I asked.

Kinski narrowed his eyes and shook his head. Kinski let go of the pouch. "Fer...medicine...fer...me...all zat stupid crap," he said. Kinski stared down at the pouch. I blinked. Kinski didnt seem to like the gift. "I hate zose stupid hermits...zey are frauds," continued Kinski, interrupting my thoughts. With that, Kinski opened the pouch and dumped all the strange powdery substance out. A couple leaves and small roots came out and fell to the dirt ground.

I stared at him. "Dont start calling Jasper and Eartha frauds, they helped you get better," I said. Kinski didnt say anything. His thoughts were elsewhere as he stared down at the little empty medicine bag. Then, he placed his left hand into his left pocket and pulled out his jacks.

I didnt realize he still had that little game with him. I thought Rango took them from him along with his gun, thinking they were a weapon as well...I guess not. I watched as he poured the jacks into the pouch and tightened the string. He fingers let go, letting the bulging little pouch lightly hit against his chest. With that, he sighed loudly and stared down at the ground. His eyes went to my wings and he began to lighty move his index finger along the webbing of my wings.

I watched him draw invisible pictures on the back side of my wings, then turned my head over to the scattered supplies that sat just a couple feet from where we were. "You hungry?" I asked, turning my head back to Kinski. Kinski silently nodded. With that, I got up and walked over to the supplies and began to pick them up. When I picked it all up, I walked back over to Kinski and sat down next to him.

"What would you like?" I asked him as I set the stuff down in front of him. Kinski's eyes shifted behind his dirty blond bangs as he stared down at the food. He just pointed to the food in general. I prepared him a plate of food and offered it to him. He accepted the food and stared down at the plate. I prepared myself a plate and began to eat. After a couple minutes of eating, I noticed Kinski wasnt eating. "Arent you going to eat?" I asked him. Kinski didnt say anything as he stared down at the food.

"...Banshee...don't leave..." he muttered. I blinked. "Leave? I'm not going to leave," I said. Kinski didnt say anything. I got up and sat closer to him. Kinski didnt look up, he just continued to stare down at the food. I picked up the hard strip of jerky and scooped a glob of beans up and offered it to his mouth. He blinked and focused on the food I was offering him. Gradually, He lifted up his left hand and accepted the jerky with the scoop of beans and shoveled it into his mouth.

...

After breakfast, we gathered up our supplies and continued our journey on foot. I kept turning my head, making sure the soldiers werent right behind us. I wished I could fly, but the pain was beginning to come back. Kinski held my wing tightly as we walked. We didnt talk. Finally, I decided to ask Kinski something. "Why dont you like hermits?" I asked him. Kinski kept his hidden eyes on the ground.

"Zey never had anyzing to fix my problems..." he said in a low voice. I was about to ask what his problems were, but stopped when my eyes flickered over to his deformity. So I closed my mouth and turned my head back to the desert horizon in front of us.

The sun continued its' way up over the mountains as we continued across the endless desert. Our pace began to slow down a bit because of the harsh sun. I finally stopped and sat under the shade of a looming tan colored rock formation. Kinski stopped as well and sat down next to me. I pulled out the canteen of water from the collection of provisions and pulled out the canteen of water. I took a couple gulps, then handed it over to Kinski.

Kinski silently accepted the canteen and took a couple heavy gulps from it. He lowered the canteen to his right hand, where he cupped it, and poured some water into it. Then he rubbed the little amount of water over the back of his neck and handed the half full canteen of water back over to me.

"We better not use too much. Only until we find a stream or something," I said as I placed the cap back onto the mouth of the canteen. Kinski stopped rubbing the back of his neck and turned to me.

"Vhy are ve out 'ere zen? If you zink ve can live off of vhat you got in zat little thing. How long do you zink ve are going to stay out 'ere anyvay?" he asked. I opened my mouth, then closed it. My ears went back as I lowered my head. I had no idea how long we were going to stay out here, surviving what little bits of food I grabbed. Also the fact that we were being chased by a group of Blor's men, we could be out in the desert for weeks, living off of barely anything to keep us going.

"Vhy are ve out 'ere anyvay?" Kinski asked. I sighed and looked up at him. "Blor just took over the town, we're the only ones who were able to escape, and right now, Blor's men are right on our tail," I said, with tears running down my face. Kinski's face seemed to change when he stared at me. I looked away and wiped my eyes with the back of my wing and got up.

"I think we should continue walking," I said. Kinski gazed up at me. Silently, he picked up the provisions and got up. With that, we continued on our way.

...

The morning began to change to the afternoon as we stopped again to rest. Kinski took another gulp of water and placed it back in the tied tablecloth. I placed my wings over my head to keep it cool. I wasnt doing so well in the heat...as always. I still couldnt get over the heat. Kinski seemed fine, even though he wore two layers of long clothing _and _he had thick fur underneath. Either he was able to keep the heat out, or he was just being stubborn. I decided not to worry about it as I stared at the ground, thinking of cold things.

We decided to stay near the multiple rock formations that acted as a great place to stay. The rocks arched above us, giving us shade. Inside was a bunch of tunnels and crevices. Perfect places to hide from predators and other things from eating us as we slept. Kinski explored around, making sure it was hermit free. I layed the blankets out and sat down on them. The sky began to go from sky blue to a light purple. The clouds began to change to a bright orange and pink.

Kinski came back from walking around the monsterous cluster of the rock formations and sat down and watched the sunset with me. We ate a small dinner in silence. Kinski fished out the box of matches and collected a bunch of dead plants together and lit them, creating a fire to keep us warm from the cold.

The sun disappeared quickly, and the stars came out. The moon wasnt seen in the night sky, which was a good sign, as we huddled near the fire. Kinski's hand clutched the small leather pouch as his eyes were transfixed to the amber flames. He seemed deep in thought, almost hypnotized. "Kinski?" I asked, snapping him out of his reverie. "Hm?"

I averted my eyes from him. "Do you...do you remember anything? Anything that happened after we...after we tried to kill Bill?" I asked him. Kinski stared at me from across the fire. The blaze from the fire casted shadows on his face, giving him a creepy appearance. His eyes flickered back down to the fire. I looked down at my wings. I didnt want to repeat the question.

After that, I yawned and rubbed my eyes. "I'm going to go to sleep, goodnight, Kinski," I hesitated, then came over to him and kissed the top of his head. Kinski continued to stare at the fire. I lightly ran my wing over the top of his blonde hair. After that, I began to walk back, but stopped when I felt Kinski's hand come up and grab the tip of my wing. I turned my head back down to him. Kinski's eyes slowly moved away from the fire, then up to me.

Steadily and progressively, he got up onto his feet. His fingers lightly lifted my wings. As he did, I watched as the bullet wounds that decorated my wings began to shrink and disappear till they were gone. His fingers lightly ran up the sides of my arms and rested on my shoulders. He stared deeply into my eyes. I stared back, and couldnt break away from his gaze.

Finally, he silently lowered his head to my eye level, closed his eyes, and leaned in and kissed me full on the mouth. My eyes widened a bit, but then began to feel heavy and finally closed as I kissed him back.

I missed kissing him. It was like kissing him for the first time. I lifted my wings and wrapped them around him, pulling him closer to me. Kinski's fingers snaked their way up my neck and interlaced through my hair.

Slowly as the kiss came, it ended, and we found us catching our breath and staring at each other again. I moved my left wing up to his face and brushed his disheveled bangs out of his eyes. Our gaze broke when the fire made a loud series of crackles. I jumped and looked over at the fire. I blushed from being so scared, but realized that Kinski jumped too. His bangs went over his eyes again.

I smiled and lifted my wing to touch the side of his face again. "Let's get some sleep," I said. Kinski silently nodded. With that, we fell asleep, huddled close to each other as the fire burned itself out and the silver stars twinkled above us in the pitch black sky...

* * *

**...Eh, very mushy I know. It just shows I'm a pathetic geek...oh well. hope you guys enjoyed, and I apologize for it being late again, my teachers really love giving out homework :P**

**so tell me what you think and hopefully the next chapter will be up soon :) have a nice day. **


	29. Chapter 29: Vengeance

...

_...I dreamed the same dream I had the night before. I was walking through a strange, unfamilar group of houses. The houses were small, but intact. It seemed deserted, and unwelcoming. It felt so strange, yet so familiar...but I couldnt remember. Just then, I noticed something glowing above one of the doors of one little house. I approached it and looked up. It was my symbol, burning brightly like fire. _

_The symbol was so vivid and so real...I took a another step closer to the door. My wing reached out to the doorknob. Suddenly, the house began to deteriorate. The stones and the thatched roof withered and stripped away, as if it were being destroyed by an invisible monster. Debris and bits of the destroyed house floated past me as it continued to destroy itself. I turned my head and noticed that all the other houses were doing the same. _

_Suddenly, I heard someone scream something. "Anera!" it was a woman's voice. "Anera!" the voice was full of fear. Then, another voice was heard: "Anera!" it was a male voice. They sounded like they were inside the house that I was in front of. I reached out for the doorknob and turned it. Just then, my dream began to go out of focus..._

My dream disappeared and I woke up. I sat bolt upright and breathed heavily. The sky was still dark, but an orange glow was seen, giving the mountains a silouette look. I blinked and looked around. Just then, Kinski stirred next to me. "Mm? Banshee?" he asked, just waking up. He yawned and slowly sat upright next to me. He rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand and turned his head to me.

"Vhas' vrong?" he asked and yawned again. My breathing slowed a bit and I rubbed my head. "I..I had another strange dream. It was the same one from last night.."I said nervously. Kinski's hands touched my trembling wings. "Vhat happened?" he asked. I took a deep breath and exhaled. "I...was in a small town it seemed...a group of houses...my symbol...people screaming my name..."

Kinski gave me a strange look. "Zat doesnt seem bad." I shook my head and sighed. I dont know...It just felt so familar...but then it didnt...do you know what I mean?" Kinski stared at me blankly. Obviously he didnt. I sighed again. "Never mind. You dont need to worry. Kinski just sat there, half asleep. Then he yawned one last time and rested his head on my shoulder. "Ok," he muttered and fell asleep.

I felt stupid for getting all worked up over a dream that didnt make any sense, but I decided not to worry about it myself and stared at Kinski. He snored softly as he slept on my shoulder. I smiled a small smile as I gingerly helped him lay back down on his side and scooted up close to him. He was very warm, which helped from the cold nights. Kinski's breath rustled my hair as he slept. His arm rested over my waist, holding me close. Sleep began to take over me and my eyes began to feel heavy. I shifted into a comfy position next to the hunchback jackrabbit and fell fast asleep.

...

When the sun came up over the mountains, the light came through our eyelids, waking us up. Kinski groaned and pulled the blanket over his head. I placed my wing over my face, but got up in the process. I had no idea what time it was, but it didnt matter, we couldnt sleep in. We had to keep moving. "Come on, Kinski, let's go," I said as I got up and began to gather our supplies. Kinski shifted from under the blankets. He groaned a slight groan.

I turned and placed my wings on my hips. "Kinski," I said. Kinski didnt move. I reached down and grabbed the blankets and pulled. Kinski's arms quickly grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled back. We played tug-o-war for a minute till Kinski yanked the blanket harder, causing me to fall forward. I landed on Kinski. Kinski laughed and wrapped his arms around me. "Let go," I said as I tried getting up. Kinski refused. Finally, he let go and I got up.

I gave him a glare, but couldnt help but smile as I watched him laugh his head off. I had almost forgotten the last time I saw him laugh...it made me happy. Finally, Kinski got up and stretched his arms. He yawned tiredly and looked out at the desert scene. Then he turned his head and bent down over the bundle of supplies. I folded the blankets up and placed them next to Kinski as he began to paw through it. His eyes lit up when he found the jerky bag. He pulled one out and tore a piece off. His mouth opened and closed; smacking loudly.

He extended the jerky bag out for me to pull one out myself, but I just simply shook my head and kicked the pile of black ashes from the fire. The ashes scattered and then blew away in the breeze. I kicked the surrounding ring of rocks away as well. I didnt want to leave clues for the soldiers. I was not going to make their hunt easy. Kinski watched me, then began to kick a couple rocks away as well.

When the fire ring was destroyed, I pulled out the canteen of water and took a couple sips, then placed it back. I stuffed the blankets into the tied tablecloth, picked it up and turned to Kinski. Kinski stared out to the distant formations. He blinked and took a step back. "I see zem, ze soldiers," he said to me as he pointed to where he was looking. Sure enough, the soldiers were appearing from behind the formations that we passed yesterday.

They looked tired, but were still moving. I handed Kinski the bundle of supplies and turned into The Nightmare. The warm colored shawl like clothing was draped around my neck. Kinski climbed up onto my back. With that, I opened my massive wings and took off the opposite direction the soldiers were coming from.

The cold winds rustled my thick fur as I flew over the desert. The flat desert ground began to change. The ground began to rise and dip. A couple deep scars and craters were seen, but the scattered plants still continued to grow wherever they could. The uneven ground below began to form into ridges and deep like cliff.

Suddenly, a strange feeling began to come over me. I turned my head to Kinski. Kinski sat on top of my back, cross legged as he looked down below. He didnt seem to have the same feeling I was having. I looked back down. Flashes of my dream came to me. I winced and shook my head.

"Anera!" I heard someone scream. I blinked. "What?" I asked, but it came out as a screech. It must have been my imagination. I felt Kinski shift. "Banshee?" he asked. Pieces of my dream still kept flashing in my mind. I couldnt handle it any longer. I went down and landed. Kinski jumped off and turned to me as I transformed back to my normal size. "Vas vrong? Vhy are ve stopping?" he asked me. I pulled the warm colored shawl around myself as I began to look around.

Finally, my eyes stopped and I stared at something a good distance away. Absentmindedly, my legs moved and I found myself walking toward it. Kinski followed right behind me. "Banshee? Vhas' vrong? tell me," Kinski asked. I didnt answer. My eyes were glued to the place. Kinski grabbed my shoulder, making me slow down. "Banshee, come on, tell me vhat's-" he stopped when his eyes flickered to where I was looking. We both stopped. Laying in ruins, was a group of houses. The same group of houses from my dreams.

Kinski stared in shock at the sight. He walked a couple steps past me. I stared at the place in horror. It was real. Kinski looked at me. "Banshee? somezin' vrong?" he asked. I felt tears come down my eyes. I shook my head. My legs weakened and I fell to my knees. Kinski came up to me and went down on his knees in front of me. He stared at me. "Banshee..." his voice faltered. I looked up at him.

He gently gripped my shoulders and helped me to my feet. He stood there, staring down at me. "Are you ok? Please tell me...If...If is about vhen I vas in my trauma mode...I sorry...I vas real upset at myself...I...remembered bits and pieces of vhat happened and...it horrified me...seeing myself try to kill you..." his voice faltered again and he looked down at his shaking hands.

I looked up at him and touched his trembling hands.

I shook my head. "No... its not that...its..." my voice faltered and I looked up at the destroyed houses, then looked down. "Those houses...they are from my dream."

Kinski gradually stopped shaking as he lifted his head up to me. "Your dream?" he asked. I nodded. "Yes...and something about the dream...it...it reminds me...of what Blor told me..." I said. Kinski gripped my wings. "Vhat did he tell you?" he asked. I opened my mouth, but not nothing came out. I turned away and looked down at the ground. Tears began to spill out of my eyes. Kinski stared at me with worry.

"Banshee?" he asked. I didnt look up. I couldnt get myself to tell him, it was horrible. I felt him wrap his arms around me and held me close to his chest. I cried in his blue long sleeve shirt. I didnt like crying, especially in front of Kinski, but he seemed to understand and made me feel better.

I finally calmed down and moved away from him. I wiped my face with the back of my wing and lifted my head up to him.

"He...he told me who I am...and...where I had come from..." I finally said. Kinski blinked, but didnt say anything. I continued. "I lived with my mom and dad...right here," I said as I pointed to the little group of houses that were destroyed and burned to the ground. Black charred remains of rooftops and furniture littered the ground. From the debris, I could make out withered bones, scattered everywhere. We must have lived in a little group. A group starting up a town.

Kinski turned his head from me and stared at the group of houses. With that, he got up and approached the small group of houses and began to walk through it. His head turned to the right, then the left; observing the small village. I couldnt get myself to move as I stared, horrified at where I once lived. I tried to remember, but I couldnt. Nothing looked familiar.

My stomach twisted and I felt like throwing up as I stood there, trembling. Kinski turned around. He took a second glance when his eyes caught something. His eyes stopped and he stared at one certain house. I could see that whatever house he was looking at, it threw him off guard. Kinski turned to me. "Banshee... you need to see zis," he said, turning his head back to the house. I didnt move. Kinski waited, but finally came over to me. I felt my legs weaken again and I fell. Kinski caught me before I fell to the ground again and gripped my shoulders firmly. He helped me up.

"Banshee," he said. I averted my eyes from him. "Anera, my real name is Anera" I said, slowly lifting my head up to him. Kinski stared into my eyes. "...Anera?" he asked. I nodded. "Blor told me that my real name is Anera," I said.

Kinski stared at me blankly for a minute. "...Anera," Kinski said. I nodded. Kinski eyes moved from my right eye, then to my left. Kinski's face gradually changed and he gave me a look of disapproval. "I like Banshee better," he said.

I felt the horrible feeling leave me. My mouth gradually formed into a smile. He smiled a small smile back and began to lead me down through the little burned group of houses to the thing he wanted to show me.

Ten feet from me, I faced a little house. It was made of stone and had a little thatched roof with a little wooden door. There were some areas where it was damaged, but other then that, it still seemed intact...but the thing that stuck out the most, was the symbol, carved into the top of the doorway. My symbol. The symbol that was the only clue to my past. I turned my head over to the other houses. Some houses I couldnt tell if they had symbols, but I finally find one that did have one. It was different.

Kinski gently pushed me toward the door of the house with my symbol on it and we both entered into the house. I felt more tears come down my eyes as I entered into the room and looked around. Inside it was dark, grey and musty. The furniture was seen scattered everywhere across the smashed wooden floor. Rugs were bunched up and kicked to the corners of the rotting wooden rafters above us creaked and sighed. Dust floated around in the room.

Kinski pointed straight ahead to the item he saw. "Zat is vhat I saw through ze vindow," he said in his German accent as he pointed across the room. I moved my eyes over to the thing that Kinski was pointing at.

It was a wall, full of hanging pictures. I slowly walked out of Kinski's touch and approached the wall. The wall had some scorch marks and some of the pictures were half burned. I looked down when I felt something sticky under my black boots. Blood. Dry blood. My vison became blurry as tears came down from my eyes to the blood stained floor. I looked back up and faced the pictures that seemed intact.

The pictures were in oval and square wooden frames. The glass surface that proteced the pictures were cracked, but I could still see them. Dust had collected around the glass and wood, so I lifted my wing and wiped away the dust. The thin layer of dust fluttered to the floor.

I stared at a baby picture of a bat, playing with a little brown stuffed animal toy. In another, I saw the little bat, but it was older, and it wore a nice white dress as she was just learning to fly. I followed from the top of the wall, down as I watched the little bat in the pictures grow before my eyes. She had dark brown hair, and light brown fur. She also had deep blue eyes. _Normal_, deep blue eyes, like how the other bats had that I have seen, except most of theirs are brown. Her face was oval shaped and she had sharp pointy ears, just like me.

Finally, my eyes made it to the last picture. It was the bat, all grown up and with her parents...my parents. It was me. I lifted the picture and frame from the hook it hung from and stared down at it. The three bats were smiling up at me from the picture as I stared down at them. They were strangers to me. I didnt know them. I began to cry. My tears spashed on the surface of the cracked glass. I felt my legs give in and I fell to my knees. I heard Kinski come up to me and go down on his knees next to me.

"Banshee, vhat's-" he stopped and looked down at the picture in my wings. He stared down at what I once was and who I once loved. I cried and began to roll up into a ball. Kinski wrapped his arms around me and kept me from going into a ball.

"I cant remember!" I finally cried out. The picture fell from my wings. The glass broke and a couple pieces of glass fell out of the frame. Kinski made me look up at him and began to move my long bangs out of my eyes. I continued to cry as I tried to remember.

"I cant...remember anything...I cant...I cant..." I shook my head and looked down. Kinski forced me to look up at him again. I fought and tried to get out of his arms, but he gripped me tightly. I finally gave in and looked up at him. He held the sides of my face in his furry hands.

"Banshee. Listen to me," he said firmly. "Zis is ze past," he said. "Blor did zis. Is not yer fault. Don't get all upset at vhat he did to you. He vanted to play vith you, vhich is vhy you cant remember...is too late...it alvready happened...dont go back to ze past..." he said. He finally removed his hands because my tears were getting them all wet. I lowered my head and cried in his shirt. Kinski wrapped his right arm around me while his left smoothed my hair at the top of my head. "I sorry, Banshee," he said quietly as I cried.

I took a deep shaky breath as I tried to stop crying. I moved away from Kinski and wiped my wet face with the back of my wing. I took a couple more shaky breaths and sighed as I stared down at the happy family in the picture. Kinski looked at me, then the picture. He reached down and picked it up. He stared at it for a minute before picking the pieces of glass away and retrieving the picture from the frame and handing it to me. I shook my head.

"I dont want it," I said. My throat began to close up. Kinski held the picture near my face. "I know you cant vremember, but is still yer family...maybe you'll vremember later on...jes?" he asked. I blinked away the tears as I stared down at the picture. The three bats in the picture seemed so happy, and so innocent. Why did Blor have to do this to us? Why did he want me for his stupid experiments? Why did he have to kill them in the process? I took the picture from Kinski's hand and stared down at the family I never knew in my wings.

No memories at all. My mind was a blank from my past. All I could remember back was when I woke up and found myself in the middle of the hot desert. The parents I once had were strangers to me. It outraged me. I didnt know my parents. I couldnt remember my past. I wanted to kill Blor myself! I didnt want to stay in the house from my past any longer.

I got up onto my feet, somewhat startling Kinski and marched to the door. I gripped the picture tightly in my left wing as I opened the door with a great force and slammed it behind me angrily. I stopped when I found myself facing twenty of Blor's men with their guns raised at my face. Kinski came out of the house behind me, but stopped when he saw the soldiers in front of us. "Oh...dammit," he muttered to himself as he slowly lifted his hands up.


	30. Chapter 30: Soaked

...

Multiple hammers clicked back. I narrowed my eyes and stared at the ends of the guns. The soldier in the front moved his gun in a firm gesture. "Git yer wings up," he said. I refused. The soldier gritted his teeth and inched the gun closer to my face in a threatening manner. At the corner of my eye, I noticed Kinski flinch. He turned his head to me. "Banshee," Kinski whispered. I still didn't lift my wings up.

With that, the soldiers came forward and grabbed my wings firmly and pulled me forward. The others took a step aside for me to walk through. Behind me, they grabbed Kinski's arms and pushed him roughly forward to follow me. Kinski snarled and began to fight the soldiers, but he stopped when one shoved the nose of the gun against his deformity.

"Keep moving," said a soldier as he pushed him forward. Kinski bumped into me. We bared our teeth at them, but kept moving. We walked down the street of the village I once knew, but couldnt remember. As we began to get closer to the exit, I scooped up the bundle of supplies. My eyes flickered over to my left. We were walking near the edge of the cliff that the small village sat on. Below, I noticed a river, snaking along near the cliff.

I turned my head to Kinski. Kinski stared down at me. He seemed concerned. I nodded my head, as a sign that I had an idea. Kinski gave me a confused look. I slipped the picture of my parents and me into the tied tablecloth and handed it over to him. He accepted it, and stared down at it in his hands. His head lifted back up to me as he began to realize what I was doing. He shook his head like mad, his eyes were wide with deep concern.

I didnt care what he thought, I was going to risk it.

With that, I screamed at the soldier near me, then transformed into The Nightmare and screamed at all the soldiers that surrounded Kinski and me. Kinski fell to the ground in time as the soldiers all went flying backwards. One of the soldiers got out of the way in time and aimed his gun up at me. In that split second, Kinski quickly got up, and fought the gun out of the soldier's hands. Kinski growled and gave the soldier an insane glare.

The soldier's eyes widened in fear, causing him to let go. Kinski aimed the gun at the soldiers who were just getting up. He climbed onto my back and I flapped away. The soldiers got up and began to fire their guns.

I bullet pierced my shoulder. The pain was excrutiating, causing my wing to fold up under me. With only one wing flapping, I began to go lopsided. My wings gave in, and we began to fall.

"Banshee! Banshee!" I heard as I felt a whole bunch of wind hit from under me. I groaned in pain as I held my bleeding wing close to me. We were falling. Kinski was near me. Screaming my name and free falling through the air. His droopy ears were now flapping over his head. His eyes were wide and full of fear. I looked down. The ground was coming up fast. I clenched my teeth and forced myself to flap to Kinski. He grabbed my mane and I forced myself to lift up.

My wings strained, but managed to lift me up and we soared thought the skies before we hit the ground. My wing was beginning to lose a lot of blood as I flew higher up. At the corner of my eye, I noticed the soldiers were still on the edge of the cliff. They raised their weapons and began to fire again. I stopped flapping and kept my wings fanned out. I tilted my head and took a huge sweep down low, hoping that I could dodge the flying bullets...I was wrong.

The bullets pierced through my wings.

I screamed in pain, then we began to fall again, below, I could see the blue waters of the river. Kinski screamed his head off as he began to leave my back. I closed my eyes and braced myself. I plunged into the icy cold waters of the rushing river. I felt my body slowing down as I sank deeper and deeper. My wounded wings actually felt a lot better in the water. I transformed back, and began to move my wings.

I couldnt seem to swim up. I began to panic. Bubbles escaped out of my mouth as I began to use all my energy, kicking and flaping my wings like mad in the cold water. The shawl around me moved. My body was moving sideways through the water. For a split second, my head broke through the water. I gasped for air, but got a mouthful of water instead. I plunged back in the water. Scared.

My wings began to feel heavy from the lack of strength. Blurry objects rushed past my heavy eyelids as I began to slip away- Suddenly Something grabbed my wing. I forced my eyes open. Kinski pulled me closer to him and wrapped his right arm around my waist. I wrapped my wings around his neck and gasped for air.

Kinski swam out of the river's current and grabbed onto the edge of land. He hoisted me up out of the water and got out of the water himself. I was soaked to the bone, and the small breeze wasn't helping at all. I trembled like a leaf as I stood there on all fours, gasping and heaving; filling my lungs back up with air. Kinski sat on his knees next to me, gasping and coughing up water. His wet clothes clung to his body, and his hair wasnt as wild and crazy, it just stuck to the sides of his face. His droopy ears dripped repeatedly. He finally turned his head to me.

"Have...you...lost...yer mind?!" he screamed. I continued to shake, not only because of the cold. I was in shock. I almost drowned. I didnt realize I couldnt swim. Kinski gave me a glare, but stopped when his ears perked up. He turned his head up to the canyon. He quickly turned back and picked me up. He carried me over to a huge boulder and hid behind it. Kinski placed me down and peeked around the corner. My teeth chattered like crazy, causing Kinski to place a wet furry hand over my mouth.

He silently placed his index finger over his lips, silently telling me to shush, then peeked back around. I tilted my head and looked past Kinski. My eyes trailed up, and I noticed the soldiers, standing at the edge of the cliff. Their dark figures stood there for a minute, scanning the river.

After a couple minutes of staying still and holding our breaths, the soldiers left. Kinski sighed with relief and removed his hand from my mouth. I continued to chatter. Kinski stared at me shivering, then sighed. He began to rub the sides of my wings. I yelped in pain, from the bullet wounds, causing Kinski to move his hands back. "Sorry," he said. I buried my face into the wet shawl. I began to breathe heavily, and tears began to trickle down my face. Kinski's arms lightly wrapped around me and pulled me closer to him, careful not to touch my wings. He rested his head on top of mine.

I sat there, trembling in his arms. Beads of water ran down the sides of my ears and my wings. Kinski held me tighter and whispered something to me, but I didnt quite catch it. Our wet clothes touched, making it feel more uncomfortable and cold.

Kinski carefully moved away from me, then he stopped and stared at the soaked shawl I wore. "You need to get out of zat," he said. I was too much in shock to answer. The part where I was drowning continued to repeat in my head. The hot tears that ran down my face seemed to warm me up a bit.

Kinski began to remove the wet shawl, but I flinched away. Kinski got up on his feet and stared down at me. "Fine zen. I go look fer ze supplies. I zink zey are still up on ze cliff..." he said, but his voice trailed off as he turned his head back up to the huge, looming cliff. He walked away from me and began to make his way to the cliff. I continued to sit there, trembling and hugging myself. Tears came down my face. My heart was pounding again. I wanted Kinski back with me.

I turned my head and peeked from behind the boulder. Kinski began to climb the side of the cliff, but stopped when he spotted something in the rocks. He pulled a rock away, causing it to tumble down the side. He picked the object up and stared at it. His twitching mouth curled up into a smile. He held the item and continued to search around the sides of the cliff in the rocks. I turned my head back and stared down at the wet shawl, taking a couple deep, slow breaths.

After a couple minutes of breathing slow, my heart began to beat its normal pace again. The sun came over the cliff. I got up and moved into the warm sunlight. My body stopped shaking, and the sun began to warm my body. Minutes later, Kinski came back and he found the two blankets, the bag of jerky, the half loaf of stale bread, the empty canteen and the box of matches.

Kinski pulled something out of his damp pocket and handed it over to me. "Found zis...is a little dirty, but is still good," he said. It was the picture of my family. I smiled and stared down at the photo. The corners were slightly ripped and there was some dirt, but other then that, it was ok. I thanked him, then grabbed a blanket.

I went behind the boulder and took the wet shawl off and wrapped the warm, dry blanket around me. Kinski did the same thing, and we both hung our wet clothes on the bare branches of a dead tree. After that, I sat down, while Kinski went around collecting dry twigs.

I wrapped the blanket tighter around me where I sat. In my left wing, I held the picture. Kinski held the ends of his blanket around himself and pulled out a match from the box. He stared at the little flame on the end of the stick before dropping it into the pile of twigs he collected and watched the fire blaze to life. He stood there, staring down at the fire. His pale pink nose twitched. Around his neck, he still wore the small leather pouch that held his most personal items inside.

I was happy that he didnt lose them in the river. I didnt know how Kinski would go on withouth them. Kinski's eyes flickered away from the fire, and then over to me. He approached me, then sat down. He sat cross legged next to me, then rested his head against my shoulder. Across from us and the fire, was the dead tree that held our wet clothes. The wet clothes gently moved in the temped breeze.

"You good, jes?" Kinski asked me. I slowly nodded my head. Kinski lifted his head from my shoulder and stared at me. "I didnt know you couldnt svim," he said. I lowered my head. "I didnt know either," I said, feeling sort of stupid. Kinski cocked his head, then his mouth curled up into a smile. "Is ok, I didnt know how to svim either, but I learned fast," he said. His smile disappeared and he looked away as he began to go into a memory. I didnt say anything.

We sat there in silence, warming ourselves up near the fire. The sky began to go dark. The clouds were beginning to join together and make the blue, endless sky disappear. The flames from the fire gave off an orange glow to everything that surrounded it. Kinski stared up at the dark clouds. His lips twitched and began to form into a sneer. "Ug, I hope it dont start to vrain," he muttered.

Thankfully, it didnt, but the dark clouds didnt want to leave. We stayed the night. Kinski used his healing powers to heal my wings again. I felt sort of bad. After he was done, I rubbed my wings gently. "I'm sorry," I said. Kinski blinked in confusion. "Fer vhat?" he asked I stared up at him. "For almost getting us killed..." my voice faltered. Kinski's face changed a bit. In the lighting of the fire, it looked scary, and serious. His wild, dry bangs hid his eyes, but I could still see them.

"Jes...vhich is vhat I vant to talk to you about...I understand you didnt vant to get caught, but you need to stop zis. I dont vant you risking yer life...I..." Kinski's voice choked up and he looked away from me. "I dont vant to lose you..." he whispered. My face began to feel warm.

Suddenly, the fire began to die. Kinski quickly got up and began to feed more twigs into the fire. With that, he wrapped his blanket tighter around him, and came back over to me and laid down. I laid down next to him. His eyes shifted behind his bangs. His nose twitched again as we laid there. The cold winds picked up, making Kinski tense up and shiver.

"I'm tired of zis running avay zing, Banshee. I vant to go home," he said. I nodded. "I know. I am too, but we have no home to go back to," I pointed out. Kinski nuzzled his head close to mine. "We'll figure...somezing out," he said. With that, his eyes futtered shut and he fell fast asleep.

I sighed. Kinski was right. We couldnt keep running away. We needed to go back and face Blor ourselves. Of course, I didnt want to spend the rest of my life as a slave, and I didnt want to be separated from Kinski...

I stared at Kinski. The hunchback jackrabbit's mouth hung open slightly, breathing slowly. I sighed again, rustling his hair. He shifted a bit, but continued to sleep. I closed my eyes. In my wings, I held the picture close to my chest. I scooted a little closer to Kinski, to keep warm from the cold...

...

The next morning, we were woken up by the warmth from the sun, breaking through the shifting clouds. Kinski and I got up and got ready to leave. We broke off bits of the stale bread and ate, settling our stomachs for a while. We grabbed out clothes off the branches of the tree and changed back into them.

"Do you zink it'll vrain?" Kinski asked as he came out from behind the boulder, dressed. He adjusted his suspenders and lifted his head up to the grey skies. The cold wind rustled his blonde hair. He narrowed his eyes a bit as his pale pink nose twitched, sniffing the air doubtfully.

I just shrugged and began to gather our remaining supplies together. Kinski came over and grabbed the box of matches and pocketed them. I didnt bother asking him to put it back. If he wanted to hold the box of mathces, he can. I handed him the almost empty canteen. "Can you please fill this up with water?" I asked him. Kinski silently nodded and grabbed the canteen. With that, he turned around and walked off to the river.

Couple seconds later I heard him curse in German, making me turn my head. In his hands he held the gun that he grabbed from the soldier. I noticed that it was wet from the river, so it was useless. Kinski shouted something and chucked it as far as he could throw into the river. "Damn it!" he shouted and kicked a rock. I just rolled my eyes and looked back down at the supplies.

I tied the ends of one blanket that held the bag of jerky, the little pieces of stale bread, and the other blanket, together. With that, I got up and began to walk toward the river with the bundle in my left wing. Kinski came back with the canteen filled with water. His bangs covered his eyes. "Feel better?" I asked him. Kinski didnt say anything. He handed me the canteen of water. After that, his furry fingers curled around the small pouch around his neck. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

"Ready to go?" I asked him, handing him the supplies. Kinski accepted the supplies. Then he turned his head and looked up at the cliff where the burned houses were. "ready vhen you are," he said, turning back. I stared up at where he looked, then looked down at my wings.

...

Kinski and I got back up onto the cliff. I stared at the small group of destroyed houses. In my wings, I held a small cluster of flowers. Kinski and I walked to the house I once lived in, and placed the flowers on the front step. I felt tears come down my face and I looked down. Kinski placed his hand on my shoulder. I wiped my tears away with the back of my wing and stared up at the small house one last time. My wing rested on the pocket where I held the photo.

"I'm sorry, mom...I'm sorry, dad..." I said. I turned my head to the rest of the houses. "I...I wish this never happened..." My eyes narrowed and more tears came down my face. "But I'm going to make you proud...and take down Blor...and make sure he goes back to where he came from...and suffers for all the horrible things he did!" I screamed through my clenched teeth.

I breathed heavily and tried to calm down. Kinski blinked and stared down at me. Behind his bangs, his eyes were wide with surprise. I looked away from him and sighed. With that, I placed my wing on the door. "Goodbye...mom and dad..." I said. I turned and walked out of the small town. Kinski followed after me.

I transformed. Kinski held the bundle of supplies and climbed up onto my back. I lifted my wings and took off.

* * *

**Sorry about the delay and the chapter. It's getting a bit more difficult, but dont worry, the next chapter will be up soon. Please review. **


	31. Chapter 31: Thunder

With our instincts as our guide, we set off back toward the town of Dirt. The dark clouds above us covered the sky, covering up the sun. I could feel Kinski shift on my back as I flapped my wings and flew over the dark desert sand and strange formation rocks. The cold winds slapped against my face as I flew against it.

I couldnt stop thinking about the small group of houses where I once lived. I picked my memory to see if I could remember anything, but nothing seemed to click. I still couldnt remember...I guess it was best not to remember. Kinski was right: it was already too late, it already happened. I shouldnt try to go back to the past.

I turned my head slightly up to Kinski. Kinski sat on my back, holding the bundle of the remaining supplies and was staring to his right out to the open desert. His droopy ears and dirty blonde disheveled hair flapped in the cold winds. He didnt shiver from the cold at all. He seemed used to it.

As I stared at him, I began to wonder about his past. He was a mistreated orphan I remember him telling me...but I began to wonder: Did he know where he came from? Did he ever know who his parents were? Did he ever find out? Did he regret finding out?

So many questions swam in my head about him. I wanted to ask, but he didnt seem to want to talk about it. He always went quiet about his past...I guess I should stay away from the past altogether. I turned my head back and continued flapping straight.

In a matter of seconds, it began to rain. A drop of water hit my nose, then a couple more drops followed after. Kinski flinched and growled a low growl. My ears flicked back from the water droplets splattering inside them and I flapped my wings harder.

The little sprinkles of water begame bigger and more powerful as we desperately searched for the town. Kinski roared in frustration at the skies and the rain came down harder. The sheets of rain became harder to see through my squinting eyes. The icy cold winds howled in my ears. My wings were starting to tense up and I was getting beaten down by the harsh water that felt like knives against my fur.

I began to fly lower and lower, till I couldnt handle it any longer and just landed. Kinski toppled off me and fell right into the muddy ground. He quickly got up, just as I transformed back to my regular size, shivering. Kinski wiped the mud from his arms as best as he could, before grabbing my arm and pulling me along.

"Ve 'ave to keep moving, Banshee. I zink I saw somezing over-" his voice was interrupted by a sudden flash in the sky, startling me. Then a loud sound, like multiple gunshots, was heard after. I screamed in fear and grabbed Kinski. Kinski took a step back to keep him from falling back into the mud and he gripped my shoulders.

"Is just-" _Flash!_ _Kaboom! _Kinski flinched

I jumped, screaming a small scream, and went down on my knees. I placed my wings over my head, covering my ears to muffle out the booming sound. The heavy sheets of rain continued to beat against my body, soaking me to the bone. Kinski grabbed my arms and firmly lifted me up to my feet. He placed an arm over my trembling shoulders and silently led me through the storm.

Our heads stayed down to keep from getting slapped in the face from the icy impact of the storm. The whipping winds that played with our hair, seemed to howl with laughter at us as we continued through the muddy desert. Our feet sunk down in the mixed wet soils, making it harder and harder to walk through.

After a couple minutes of walking blindly through the hard rain, I felt Kinski's head lower next to mine. His warm breath made the tensed up muscles in my face relax a bit. "Ze mines," he said.

I forced my head to lift up.

I strained my eyes to stare past the stinging water, and made out the thin outline of the familiar Abandoned Mines. We were close. With that, Kinski and I quickned our pace and trudged through the water to the mines. With our minds set on a dry, secure place to stay, we arrived at the entrance, but found it blocked by a small boulder. Kinski and I stared down at it in confusion.

I didnt remember seeing a boulder in front of the entrance of the mines. Kinski didnt think much of it and began to push it out of the way. When he removed it far enough to reveal the small tunnel that led into the mines, we were welcomed by a nose of a gun. I took a step back in surprise when Chorizo appreared out of the entrance and aimed his gun at our faces. His sombraro kept most of his head dry from the cold rain.

"Don't you-Kinski?" asked Chorizo, his voice changing. Kinski nodded. "Hey Cho.," he said. Chorizo lowered the gun. "I thought you were...you're back!" said the shrew in surprise and excitement, but then it all disappeared when Chorizo's small, yellow eyes flickered over to me.

"Oh...yer still with _her_..." muttered Chorizo sourly. Kinski narrowed his eyes and glared at the short shrew. "Jes, I'm still vith _her. _Now let us inside, is freezing," said Kinski as he rubbed his arms. Chorizo continued to give me the death glare, then turned his head back up to the hunchback. "I can let you in...but not her," he said. Kinski's jaw dropped. "Vhat?" he asked in anger.

Chorizo pointed the nose of the gun at me. "I said I'll let you in, but not her-" "Point zat somevhere else!" snapped Kinski. Chorizo lowered the gun away from my face. His mustard colored eyes seemed to glow with hatred. Kinski bared his teeth.

"Banshee is coming inside vith me! I vont let you decide if she cant come in or not!" Kinski shouted over the loud noises of the storm. Chorizo shrugged. "Fine. Then ya can stay out 'ere an' freeze to death with yer _chica, amigo._" Kinski snarled with rage and took a step forward. Chorizo took a step back and pulled the hammer back with his thumb.

"Dont you dare, hunchback. I wont hesitate to shoot ya if ya try an' hurt me," he threatened. Kinski growled a low growl, but stood his ground. Just then, Stump came out from the tunnel and stood next to Chorizo. His eyes widened at the sight of us. "Kinski? Banshee? What are you two doin' 'ere? I thought you...?" his voice faltered as his eyes flickered from me to Kinski, then back to me.

Chorizo threw Stump a glare. "They want in. I allowed Kinski in, but Banshee cant. She can go an' find her own place," he said, turning his head and giving me a glare. Stump opened his mouth, then closed it. He turned his head to me, his face had a sympathetic expression written on it.

Kinski narrowed his eyes in frustration through his bangs. He continued to rub his arms as droplets of rain dripped off his droopy ears. "Ve're freezing out 'ere! Jus' let us go inside fer just one nigh' and ve'll leave in ze morning!" Kinski shouted over the pounding rain.

Chorizo raised the nose of the gun higher to Kinski's face. "No! I aint letting you-" _Kaboom!_

Instinctively, I jumped and grabbed Kinski's arm. Chorizo and Stump had flinched when the loud sound went off again, then slowly straightened up. With that, Chorizo shoved Stump back into the mines. "You had yer chance, _amigo,"_ said the shrew and pulled the boulder back over the entrance with one hand. His other hand still held the gun, aimed right at our faces.

When Chorizo pulled the boulder back over the entrance of the mines, Kinski shouted something in German and began to throw wet rocks at the mines. I grabbed his throwing arm and told him to stop. Kinski shrugged my wings off him and stormed off.

"Kinski!" I called after him and followed. I followed Kinski up the muddy hill and watched as Kinski walked right up to the old stables.

I quickened my pace and caught up with Kinski. We both collapsed inside the stables and closed the waist high door, somewhat keeping the cold winds out. We sat there, breathing heavily. Kinski coughed and held his throat. We leaned our backs against the wooden border that went around the old stable.

Our feet were caked with mixed, muddy soils. I wiped my wet face with the back of my wing and stared up at the old stables that once held roadrunners back when the mines was active.

Images of Kaliah, my old bat friend, sitting in here, eating her crates of fruit flickered in my mind. Kinski dropped the bundle of supplies in front of me, interrupting my thoughts. I turned my head to him and watched as he fingered the string around his neck that held the leather pouch. His eyes were still narrowed in anger. His body went through short shivers. Finally, after waiting impatiently for himself to calm down, he ripped the necklace off his neck and raised it past his head.

"Zis stupid shit isnt vorking!" he shouted and chucked it across the stables. I watched as the pouch that held his jacks hurtled through the air and out of the stables. My ears picked up to the fainst sound of the small pouch splatting against the soft, muddy ground outside.

Kinski sighed in frustration and buried his face in his arms. I turned to him and placed a wing on his shoulder. "Kinski, its ok. Its not your fault," I said. Kinski didnt say anything. I sighed. Suddenly, another loud explosion erupted over the stables.

I gasped and gripped Kinski's soaked long sleeved sweater. Kinski looked up from his arms and turned his head to me. He stared at me through his wet bangs. "You scared of ze zunder?" he asked. My shoulders trembled a bit as I turned my head up to him.

"Thunder?" I asked him. Kinski nodded. My ears went back when a soft rumble was heard. I averted my eyes from him and stared down at my shaking wet wings.

I didnt want to admit I was afraid of a loud noise. Though, I have never encountered thunder before...that I can remember. Kinski reached for the bundle of supplies and pulled out the two blankets. He wrapped one around me, then wrapped one around himself. We sat there in the cold stables.

"Is nozing to fear...ze zunder," he said in his German accent as he reached into the bundle again for the bag of hard jerky. He pulled one out with his teeth then offered the bag to me. I slightly shook my head politely and watched him as he chewed on the jerky. Gradually, he slowly turned his head over to me. His hazel colored eyes stared at mine through his dirty, wet blonde bangs.

"I never knew about thunder until now," I found myself admitting. Kinski blinked in surprise, he moved his head back a bit as he stared at me, then his surprised expression faded away and he stared out into the rain.

"I guess I shouldnt be surprised to you say zat...Ve live in a hell vorld anzyvay," he said, meaning the desert.

Yes, the desert was a hell world. Only once in a good century it rained...but I think it was mostly because of Blor, bringing in dark clouds...

I pushed the images of Blor out of my mind and leaned my head against Kinski's shoulder. Kinski rested his head against mine and we sat there, shivering together in the cold stable.

Kinski swallowed the piece of jerky and gave a slight look of disgust. I knew he didnt want to eat the jerky, but he was starving, and would eat anything. I wondered why he wasnt eating the stale bread, but I guess we lost it in the storm.

The loose soil ground underneath us was cold and damp. Lightning flashed across the black sky again, then the thunder came after, causing me to jump and grip Kinski's arm again. Kinski wrapped his arm around me and held me. Protecting me.

Suddenly, his droopy ears picked up something. I listened too. It was the sound of footsteps. Kinski's instincts kicked in and I felt his shoulders tense up as he sniffed the air. He got up and squinted his eyes through the rain.

I stared up at him, then out to the rain. A small light was faintly seen through the sheets of rain. It came closer and closer, then a dark figure appeared and entered inside the stable.

It was Stump.

"Stump?" asked Kinski as his shoulders relaxed a bit. Stump raised the lantern near his head as he wiped the droplets of rain that were seen on his face. He blinked and looked up at us and smirked a small, weak smirk. "I thought you two would be in 'ere," he said in his British accent.

Kinski gave him a look. "Vhat do you vant? You vant us to leave ze stable too, jes?" he asked. Stump shook his head. "No, I wanted you two to come inside the abandoned mines," he said, then motioned the lanturn over toward the direction of the mines.

Kinski blinked in surprise. "...Banshee too, jes?" he finally asked. Stump nodded. "Yes, she's welcome inside too. I dont really have a hatred for her...not as much as Cho.," he admitted and gave me a quick glance. I smiled a small smile.

"Thank you, Stump," I said as I picked up the remaining bundle of supplies and got up from where I sat. Kinski came up next to me as we stared from the edge of the stable and out to the pouring down hard rain.

Stump came up next to us. He lifted the lantern near his head, and began to walk through the storm. Lighting the way. Kinski pulled his blanket up over his head and followed right behind him. I followed after.

As I was coming down the slippery, muddy hill, something caught my eye. I almost didnt see it, but I noticed the thin leather cord. It was the small leather pouch, already sinking into the mud. I quickly bent down and retrieved it. I almost slipped in the process, but regained my balance. The cold mud caked item squished in the webbing of my wing as I made my way down the hill and toward the little faint light.

I caught up with Kinski and Stump as they were just about to enter through the entrance of the mines. Kinski silently motioned me to go first. I ducked my head and went inside. When I straightened up in the room, I found Chorizo leaning against the rocky wall on the other side with his arms crossed over his chest.

I ignored his glare and rubbed my wings. It was a bit cold in the room, but it was better then being out in the storm. I pulled the blanket tighter around me to keep warm as I looked around the room. Other then the old, worn couches in a different position, everything looked the same how it was a couple years ago.

Wanted posters scattered on the ground, old wooded fruit crates stacked on the other side of the room. The furniture was fixed and placed back upright and had a plate of fruit, bread, a jug of water, and a pot of cold beans. My stomach growled.

Suddenly, I turned my head away and started to cough.

Kinski appeared next to me and stared down at me with concern. "You ok?" he asked. I shook my head as I kept coughing. I sudden chill coursed through my body and I kept coughing and shaking. My throat began to feel sore and my head was starting to hurt. Kinski unwrapped his blanket from him and placed it over my shoulders as I continued to cough.

I think I was starting to get sick.

Kinski was about to say something, but stopped and snapped his head up. His eyes spotted the food. He gently touched my shoulders. "Maybe you need somezing to eat," he said as he lead me over to the table. Chorizo stopped him before he could get his wet paws on the food.

"Git yer filthy, grubby paws off the food, hunchback," the shrew snarled. "I aint lettin' ya feed yer sick bat," he added.

Kinski's muddy paws howered over the food. He glared at Chorizo with bitter hatred. Just then, Stump came up to the table and placed the lantern down. "Hey, Cho., that's no way to treat an old friend. They can eat," he said. I coughed, causing Stump to turn his head to me.

"You dont sound good. Are you gettin' sick?" he asked me. I nodded my head,but then I instantly felt dizzy and rubbed it gently. Kinski helped me to a chair and made me sit down. He sat down in the other chair near me. He picked up the plate of fruit and handed it over to me. As I slowly chewed the fruit, he poured me a cup of water.

Stump and Chorizo silently watched us.

Chorizo didnt look too happy, of course. Letting in someone who he knew for a long time, and was starting to hate for some weird reason; and someone he just automatically hated just because all the other outlaws did.

It was dead silent in the room as I ate. Kinski was thoughtfully chewing on a small piece of bread. Suddenly, Chorizo came over to the table and slammed his hands down. I turbed my head and looked up at him nervously. Kinski removed the piece of bread from his mouth and turned his head over to Chorizo. Chorizo's glaring eyes burned through Kinski's eyes.

"You are starting to get on my nerves seeing you act like this!" Chorizo shouted as he gestured to Kinski. Kinski just gave the shrew a confused look. "Vhat do you mean?" he asked. Chorizo bared his sharp front teeth. "You arent yerself! You've changed!"

I flinched. Kinski narrowed his eyes a bit. "I havent changed-" "Yes! you have! All because of Banshee!" My eyes widened and I looked over at Kinski. Kinski's hands began to ball up into fists. Chorizo continued. "She's changed you! You arent like yer old self-!"

Suddenly, Kinski got up. As he did, he curled his fingers from under the table and flipped it with a great force, causing the table to fall toward Chorizo. I got up from my chair and gasped in horror. The food went flying. Chorizo yelped in surprise and quickly took a couple steps back as the table crashed, almost onto his feet.

Just as he looked up, Kinski charged toward him and grabbed him my the neck. He slammed the shrew's back against the wall. Chorizo gasped at the sight of Kinski's outraged face. "You vant me to be my old, stupid ass self, jes?! You vant me to go back to how I vas before! Miserable and hated! Back vhen everyvne feared me! back vhen every citizen called me a freak! Back vhen I vas a gunslinger!" yelled Kinski into Chorizo's face.

Chorizo fidgeted nervously as he gripped Kinski's hand tightly that was around his throat. Chorizo's feet kicked as they hovered over the ground. Stump came up to Kinski and gripped his shoulder, but Kinski shrugged him off. "Lay off, Stump! He asked fer it! He asked fer ze hunchbacked freak! He asked fer 'Ze Vild Vone', jes?" he sneered at Chorizo's face. Chorizo struggled for air.

"Kinski!" I screamed and came over to him. Kinski slightly turned his head to me when I placed my wing on his shoulder. "Don't listen to him. He just wants to get you riled up-" I was interrupted when I suddenly went into a fit of coughing. Kinski stared at me through his bangs. With that, he released Chorizo. Chorizo crumpled to the floor and gasped for air.

Kinski helped me up and began to lead me away. As we were walking away from the mess, I noticed Chorizo looking up from the floor with his hand touching his throat. He stared at me, then looked away. Stump helped him up and began to silently clean up the mess. I turned away.

Kinski grabbed a dry blanket from one of the couches and handed it over to me. "Go into ze other voom and change out of zose clothes," He told me. I slowly nodded and did what he told me.

When I came out, he took my wet shawl and led me to one of the old couches.

I coughed again as Kinski made me sit down. He tossed my clothes on the ground and sat down next to me. He hunched over and sighed with exhaustion. His disheveled hair was in his face as he stared down at his hands which rested on his lap. I sat there, feeling more and more sick. I turned my head to Kinski. "Are you ok?" I asked him, my voice was starting to change a bit. I coughed again and held my head.

Kinski didnt answer.

A muffled boom of thunder was heard outside. I didnt care as I lowered myself down and laid in a shivering curled ball on the couch. Kinski got up from the couch. As he did, he got a pillow from one of the other couches and placed it under my head.

I closed my eyes tightly.

My headache kept getting worse and worse as I tried to sleep. The coughing fits kept coming, and I felt cold, but very warm at the same time. My fur was still damp from my wet clothes that laid in a pile next to me.

Suddenly, I felt a furry hand lightly smooth my hair out of my eyes. I opened them slightly and realized that Kinski was still there. He lightly stroked my hair for a minute, then stopped and left me to sleep in peace.

Another muffled boom was heard from outside, but this time, I didnt flinch. I was too tired to care. All I cared about was getting better. My ears picked up to the faint sounds of Stump and Kinski talking. Chorizo was gone. He must have went somewhere else in the mines.

"Here, K., yer gonna need this," I heard Stump say as he handed the hunchback something. I heard a series of clicks and realized that it was a gun. "Zanks, Stump," muttered Kinski as he placed the gun into his holster. "Dont worry about Cho., K. He's just upset about all this. The situation we're in righ' now," said Stump in a low voice.

"Blor has started all this madness, and now here we are, righ' back where we started. I assume Bill is still with Blor. Not sure, but I dont give a crap about him anymore..."

Kinski sighed. "_Ja,"_ he muttered softly.

It was quiet for a moment, then Stump spoke. "Dont worry, Kinski. We'll stop this." There was a pause. "Ve?" asked Kinski. "Yeah, and I'm sure Chorizo would like to join in as well. We'll help you and Banshee stop Blor," Stump said. I felt the weight lift from my shoulders a bit. Stump was offering to help us. "Zanks, Stump," said Kinski, his voice sounded a bit relieved and happy.

"No problem," then there was an awkward pause and the faint sound of drips. "Get out of those wet clothes, K. Yer gettin' the ground all wet," said Stump in a more of a firm tone. I heard the sounds of Kinski's footsteps as he went past me and into the other room to change.

I shifted my head on the pillow to a more comfortable position. I still held the little pouch in my wing. Most of the mud was gone, but was starting to dry up on the cracked, leather surface. I coughed one last time and fell fast asleep to the dull, lullaby of the pitter patter of rain outside...

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry about the delay. A lot of things have been going on. For one thing, I really am sick. (kind of also the idea for Banshee to get sick) and, it just rained out here, which gave me the idea for the rain. (Found out I fear the thunder). Oh well. just something else to add to her character. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please review :) **


	32. Chapter 32: A Great Deluge

I assumed a couple hours had passed because my eyes were very heavy to lift. My mind was half awake when I heard a strange sound. I didnt have the strength to open my eyes, but listened instead as a strange scratching sound was heard, then stopped, and a strange orange glow illuminated the inside of my eyelids. Curiosity got the better of me and I opened one eye.

Kinski and Stump sat on their knees as they tried making a fire in the cold room of the mines. Kinski wore his faded orange prison coverall as he held his box of matches over a pile of broken pieces of wood.

The little flame began to grow withing the little broken furniture pile, and turned into a beautiful warm fire. Outside, the rain had lightened up a bit, but was still muffled by the sounds of the fire.

Kinski and Stump got to their feet and watched the fire for a minute. Their long shadows stretched up along the dirt walls. The fire instantly began to warm up the room, but I still shivered.

Kinski turned to me and I quickly closed my eyes. I continued to shake from the cold inside me. I heard his footsteps come up to the couch I rested on. He went down to his knees and lightly placed his furry hand on top of my head.

"I dont think yer healin' powers will work on her sickness, K." whispered Stump. I heard the short rabbit walk up and stand right beside Kinski. "Bein' sick is different then havin' blood gush from open skin," he continued.

Kinski sighed, rustling my hair. "I jus' vant to see if it vould vork..." he whispered. My ears twitched to the sounds of the crackling fire behind them. "Besides, vhas' ze harm in seein' if it could vork? If no, zen ve get her somezing zat vill, jes?" whispered Kinski to Stump. Stump didnt say anything.

I felt Kinski's fingers lightly run along my forehead. A strange tepid feeling flowed through my body as I laid there. For a couple seconds, it felt that my sickness was going away, but then I felt my throat grow sore again and I groaned in pain. Kinski's fingers quickly lifted from my forehead.

I shifted a bit, I winced and turned over. My mind slipped in and out of sleep. I couldnt concentrate. After a couple seconds, I felt Kinski's fingers touch my forehead again. "Kinski..." whispered Stump.

The strange, but calming current flowed through my system again. It seemed stronger. The sore feeling seemed to be fading away. My weak body seemed to gain its strength back again.

Kinski lowered his fingers in exaustion and breathed heavily. He lowered his head and placed his hands on his lap. His breathing was heavy and he sounded like he was going to be sick. I wanted to ask him if he was ok, but I felt weak.

"Why dont you go sit down at the table," whispered Stump. I listened as Stump helped the exhausted hunchback up and led him over to a chair near the table. Kinski sighed as he sat down. He continued to breathe heavily as if he just ran nonstop from a predator.

I heard the sound of water being poured into a cup. "Here, drink this," whispered Stump. Kinski gulped the water down greedily and took a deep breath of air after draining the cup. I heard the sound of the cup lightly clacking against the table as it was set down. Silence filled the air, but was occasionally interrupted by the crackling, popping sounds of the fire.

"You ok?" asked Stump in a low voice. Kinski didnt say anything. His heavy breathing started to gradually cease. "_Ja,"_ then he made a stiffled gasp, which made me open my eyes and look over. Kinski rubbed the top of his head. "I jus' hope Banshee is ok," he whispered, as he turned his head over to me. I quickly closed my eyes, fighting to keep the smile to not be seen on my face.

Just then, Chorizo's voice was heard. He must have came into the room. "That's all you care about now," he muttered in a firm tone. I opened my eyes again, just as Kinski turned his head back to Chorizo. Chorizo ignored Kinski's glare and continued. "Ever since she arrived into the town, you werent yerself anymore..." Chorizo's voice faltered. "You didnt act like yer careless, happy self anymore," he said.

Kinski stared at Chorizo with a confused but surprised expression on his face. "Vhat? Vhat do you mean?" he asked, then he turned nis head over to Stump. Stump lowered his head a bit and stared down at the table. "Cho. means that you act different now. You aren't the old Kinski we used to know before Banshee arrived into Dirt," he explained.

Kinski stared at both of his old friends. "I haven't changed. I'm still my ol' self. Is jus'..." Kinski's words seemed to burn out as he sat there, trying to figure out how to explain. Chorizo just muttered something in Spanish and shook his head. "Banshee changed you. She turned you into a mature civilized being," I heard him say. Stump threw Chorizo a warning glance.

Kinski blinked in shock. He narrowed his eyes a bit and stood up from his chair. "Banshee didnt do anzything," his voice rose a bit. "She vas ze only person who liked me fer who I vas. She didnt see me as a monster or a freak. Vhen I am vith 'er...I feel...like I belong...like I am accepted...she got everyvne else to see it too. Now ze whole town accepts me. I dont feel like an outcast anymore. I dont feel hated. She gave me a second chance...to start my life over...and I plan to vith 'er." he said.

Kinski finally sat back down and stared down at his hands that rested on the table.

The room was quiet.

Kinski stared at Stump and Chorizo, waiting for them to answer. Stump stared down as he fumbled with his fingers. Chorizo rubbed his fingers over his serape. A couple minutes of silence passed before Chorizo finally looked over at the hunchback.

"She wasnt the only one who didnt see ya as a freak, _amigo_" said Chorizo. Kinski looked up. Stump nodded in agreement. Kinski didnt say anything.

"We have known each other for about seventeen years." Stump piped up. "We've been together through it all, thick and thin. We've helped each other out, even when it seemed that we werent going to make it...but we've always seemed to pull through and survive at the last minute."

Chorizo sighed. "But it began to change when Banshee came along. When she told you how she felt about you, we saw you begin to move farther and farther away from us."

Kinski's eyes widened a bit from behind his bangs.

The fire popped and hissed, but continued to burn where it was. Chorizo continued. "We didnt see you as a hideous, monsterous freak of nature. We saw you as what we still see you as today: our _amigo_. Our Friend."

Kinski sat there. Speechless. His head slightly turned from Chorizo, then to Stump. Stump nodded. What Chorizo said was true. Kinski didnt know what to say.

Mixed emotions flowed through me as I stared at them.

Kinski stared down at the table. Quiet. Stump and Chorizo exchanged silent glances to each other. Unexpectedly, Kinski raised his head back up. "Is not only Banshee," he answered, his eyes were hidden behind his bangs.

Stump and Chorizo turned their heads back to Kinski. Their eyebrows lifted a bit.

"What?" asked Chorizo. Kinski blew a strand of hair away from his face before answering. "Is not only Banshee. Zis var against Blor. Is changed everyone." He paused for a second. "Is all Blor. He's changed us all."

Stump and Chorizo exchanged glances, then glanced back at the hunchback.

Kinski silently got up. His fingertips lightly touched the table as he stared down at his old friends. "I'm goin' to bed. G'nigh'" he muttered the last part. With that, he turned and left Stump and Chorizo at the table.

I closed my eyes when he approached where I was. I heard him stop in front of me, leaned down and lightly kissed my forehead before turning around and crashing down on the old, worn couch next to mine.

I opened my eyes a crack and stared through my eyelashes at Stump and Chorizo, still sitting at the table. The fire illuminated their fur, giving it an orange tint. Every object in the room casted a black shadow, striping the rock walls in the eyes began to feel heavy, and I fell fast asleep. Stump, Chorizo, and Kinski's conversation repeated in my mind...

...

More hours passed before I began to hear the rain again. The soft orange embers glowed a dull glow among the charred black wood. The sound of the rain lulled and drummed lightly above where I slept. My mind began to drift. Suddenly, I felt a pair of furry hands gently touch my shoulders.

"Banshee," whispered a voice. I blinked my eyes open. "Kinski?" I asked, yawning. I groaned lightly and rubbed my head. "You ok?" he whispered. I stared up at him and shrugged. "Better then I did when we arrived here," I whispered back. I looked around the room and found that Stump and Chorizo were gone. "Where is-?" I started in a louder voice, but Kinski quickly placed his hand over my mouth.

He silently placed his index finger over his lips. "Zey voke me up an' told me zat zey 'eard footsteps, possibly Blor's men. Ve need to keep quiet an' vait," Kinski whispered. He lowered his arms and sat down at the edge of the couch where my feet were.

"Ve might 'ave to leave zis place," he added.

I felt my heart sink. _Where would we go? How would we get there? Why cant we-? _My thoughts were interrupted when a couple gunshots were heard right outside the mines. I gasped, but changed into a cough. Kinski helped me up.

I held the ends of the blanket close to my chest as we moved away from the entrance and made our way along the side of the wall. I looked down, just as Kinski pulled out his gun from his holster and clicked the hammer back.

I held my coughing in as Kinski lifted the gun and aimed it right at the entrance. Suddenly, Stump came into the room, right behind him tumbled in one of Blor's men, covered in mud. Kinski aimed his gun at the soldier, but didnt pull the trigger when the soldier collapsed to the ground and didnt get up.

He was dead.

Suddenly, Stump faltered to his knees. Kinski and I caught him before he fell. Stump muttered a string of curse words as he gripped his right arm. "Damn bastard..." I heard him say as red blood stained his shoulder.

"Oh, stop vhinin' an' git up. Vhere's Chorizo?" asked Kinski. Stump's head lolled over to the entrance of the mines. We all turned out heads, just in time to see Chorizo walk backwards into the mines, shooting a couple soldiers before turning around and facing us.

"_Buenos dias amigos y Banshee. Le tienen una buena noche de sueno?" _he asked in a sarcastic tone. Stump rolled his eyes and shrugged our hands off him. "Were there any more out there?" he asked. Chorizo turned around toward the mines. Rain sprinkled down outside. Chorizo turned back and shrugged.

"I dunno. I think we got them all," he said and nudged the soldiers' limp body in front of him with his foot. Suddenly, the soldier got up. We all jumped. Chorizo and Stump quickly aimed their guns and fired at the soldier. The soldier screamed in pain as blood exploded out from his chest before collapsing back down.

We all sighed with relief.

"Who's hungry fer breakfast?" teased Stump. We all threw Stump a glare. Suddenly, six soldiers came tumbling into the room. Their bodies were drenched in mud and blood. We all screamed and walked backwards from them. "_Verdammt_! Didnt you say you shot zem?!" Kinski shouted at Stump and Chorizo.

"_Si_! We did!" said Chorizo

"Ya missed!" shouted Kinski back.

Chorizo's eyes flashed red at the hunchback. "I mever miss," he growled under his breath. With that, Kinski pushed me to go behind him. "Go in zere," he said, pointing over to the tunnel that opened up into the next room full of tunnels. I didnt move. Kinski was about to say something, but loud gunshots errupted. Kinski ducked and pointed over to the tunnel again. "Go! Now!" he shouted. I turned and ran toward the tunnel. I turned my back one last time to see the three fire their guns at the six soldiers before running into the tunnel. I kept running, then stopped in the middle of the dark, cold room.

My head was aching from the sounds of the guns going off, making me very nervous. Suddenly, a couple screams of pain were heard and more bullets being shot. Seconds later, Stump staggered into the room, his hand gripping his bleeding right arm in pain. He fell to his knees. I ran up to him.

"Stump, are you ok. Do you-" "I'm fine! Dont touch it!" he snapped at me as he slapped my wing away with his good arm and went back to keeping the blood from pouring out from his shoulder. His gun rested in his limp shooting arm.

More gunshots were heard from the other room. Stump turned his head over to the sounds, then slowly got up, using me as support, and pulled me along toward the other tunnels. He shoved me down and fell to his knees next to me. "Dont make a noise," he warned me.

"But what about-" I started. "Shut it!" snapped Stump and slapped his bloody hand over my mouth. My eyes widened and I moved my mouth away. My mouth was covered in his blood. I wiped it as best as I could with the back of my wing as Stump turned his head over to the bigger tunnel. Suddenly, three soldiers came staggering in. Stump pressed his back against the wall. His bloody arm lightly brushed against my stomach, making me press my back against the inside of the tunnel wall.

The soldiers were covered in their own blood as they scanned the room. Their guns were loaded and ready to shoot anything. Stump and I kept very still as we watched them slowly disperse and look individually. As we watched them, we noticed something peculiar. The more we stared at them, the more it seemed that the blood was gradually fading away from their uniforms. I didnt know what I was seeing, possibly the lack of light in the room.

Stump fingered his gun in his limp hand as one of the soldiers began to get closer to where we were hiding. His teeth were clenched as he glared at the approaching soldier. Right as the soldier's gun got close, Stump got up and shot the soldier square in the chest. The soldier gasped and took a couple steps back. Stump fired at the other two behind the first soldier. I stayed right where I was as I watched the soldiers stagger where they stood.

Stump's stern expression changed as he slowly began to realize that the soldiers werent falling over and dying. Instead, the soldiers straightened up and smirked at him. The huge blood stains that covered the front of their suits, suddenly began to shrink. Stump's gun shook as he stared wide eyed in horror. They were given the gift of immortality. Blor must have figured a way to get Mr. Black to spill the beans.

Stump raised his shaking gun and pulled the trigger. _Click! Click!...Click! _Stump stood therem frozen in fear as the soldiers raised their guns-

Suddenly, Kinski and Chorizo bolted into the room and kept running; making the soldiers lower their weapons in confusion. Right behind the two, fire exploded out from the tunnel. The other three soldiers from the room came in after, screaming in pain as flames engulfed their bodies. With the soldiers distracted with the fire, Stump ran right into the tunnel I was in, grabbed my wing, and got me up to my feet. Without wasting any time, we both bolted deeper into the tunnel we were hiding in.

As we ran, another tunnel opened up into ours. Kinski and Chorizo appeared and ran along beside us. We all exchanced a quick glance at eachother, before turning our heads back. We turned right, then left, then ducked into a smaller tunnel and out of the mines as the fire and explosions began to spread through out the tunnels. As we broke out of the tunnel and out to the open, we stopped on a sand dune and turned around to gaze down upon the Abandoned Mines.

Flames flickered out from the multiple tunnels that was a part of the mines. Thick plumes of smoke rose up and mixed with the dark clouds above. Light sprinkles of rain tapped lightly against our heads. I turned my head slightly over to the men. Kinski stared at the fire, transfixed, but had a touch of sadness on his face. Stump and Chorizo silently took off their hats in respect. As if someone they knew died. Inside, we could hear the faint screams of the soldiers, being burned to death...

Stump placed his hat back on first and glave Kinski and Chorizo a glare. "Who's bright idea was it to burn the mines?!" he snapped sarcastically. Chorizo placed his hat back on his head and held his hands up in defense. "Hey! It wasnt my idea, I jus' wanted to get away from the soldiers who didnt seem to want to stay dead. Kinski thought to start a fire to slow 'em down," he said. Kinski didnt say anything. Instead, he groaned in pain and doubled over.

I gasped and wrapped my wings around him before he fell. He gripped his side. He got shot. My eyes widened at the sight of blood loss. "Oh no...Kinski..." My voice broke. Kinski's coverall was looking more red then orange. Kinski faltered a bit and gripped his side again. He gritted his teeth in pain as fresh blood oozed out of his wound. He took, long, slow breaths, then laughed a small laugh.

"Is not so bad...not as bad as ze last time I got...shot," he said between gasps of air. I smiled a small smile, but it disappeared as I supported him. My eyes flickered over and gazed out to the open space. The desert landscape was covered in puddles. It was strange to see a dead world suddenly become a deluge in just a couple days.

Kinski groaned again, snapping my focus back to him as I tried wiping the blood away with the ends of the blanket that was wrapped around me. Stump and Chorizo continued to stare at the Abandoned Mines that they once knew as their beloved home...now a pile of ashes.

"It doesnt matter anyway, we need to leave," said Chorizo as his eyes slowly trailed up along the huge, plume of dark smoke snaking upward from the mines. The small rain continued to fight with the little yellow tongues of the fire, making faint hissing noises. The screams from the soldiers were gone. Their bodies were possibly melted and burned to a crisp. It'll take years till they finally grow back to their normal form.

"Vh-vhere's... ze... vagon?" asked Kinski between gasps of air. Stump and Chorizo exchanged sad glances. "Its right where we left it, K., but, the javelina that used to pull it..." Stumps voice faltered. "She's dead," said Chorizo flatly. I heard Kinski's heart literally skip a beat.

"Vhat? Jenita is dead? She cant be! Ve had 'er-" "We stole her from the town of Grime, and had her for over fifteen years, Kinski, She's lived her life. She's dead. We're gonna have to walk," said Chorizo in a harsh tone. Kinski's shoulders suddenly tensed up. I looked up at him.

I didnt know that the pig that I remembered seven years ago was suddenly dead. What really surprised me was that she was given a name, and that Kinski seemed to have a small attachment toward her. Questions were being answered, but more questions were being asked.

Kinski sighed in defeat, then stared at Stump and Chorizo. "Ok...zen. Vhere do ve go now? Is zere... any ozer... place... ve could... stay?" he asked, then winced and lowered his head. He muttered a couple curse words and straightened back up again to not look weak. Stump and Chorizo exchanged glances before turneing back to Kinski. "We have one place, not far from 'ere, most likely deserted now," said Stump. Kinski shifted himself and forced his head upward to the short jackrabbit.

"Fine zen...lead ze vay," he said. Stump calmly walked past us and began walking out into the puddle infested desert. Chorizo followed suit. I looked up at Kinski. Kinski groaned again and held his side. "Dont vorry abou' me... I'm fine...jus' help me valk," Kinski said through gritted teeth. Without saying anything, I half led, half dragged the poor rabbit; following right behind Stump and Chorizo to the possible last place we could stay and keep hidden from Blor and his men.

...

The journey was dead quiet, only the soft calming sounds of the beads of rain dropping into the puddles that surrounded us, giving off a beautiful sound. Occasionally, we had to walk around a puddle that was in our way and walked around it. Our clothes became cold, and uncomfortable as the little rain drops seeped into the material and stained our fur.

Stump's fur was still damp in his own blood from his shoulder. He toughened it out and continued to walk. Chorizo, I noticed, had a limp in his left leg. Blood dotted his sombrero and muzzle. I wasnt sure if it was his blood or someone elses. Either way, it didnt seem to bother him. Kinski gritted his teeth in frustration as he continued to walk next to me. I continued to support him. Occasionally, he would falter, but regained his balance. His eyes were narrowed, he didnt want to show any signs of weakness, but his eyes were full of pain.

I looked out to the vast open desert. The dark rain clouds stretched on above us, but seemed to gradually fade away and the blue sky was seen again in the distance. It was like a boundary. The farther the dark blanket of clouds were from the town, the harder it was. The clouds acted like Blor's own personal umbrella from the sun.

Suddenly, Stump and Chorizo stopped, causing Kinski and I to stop as well. In front of us, was a huge puddle, more like a pool, or a lake. "Wow, I've never seen so much water in my life," muttered Stump. Chorizo gave Stump a look. "Really? You dont remember the last time we encountered so much water?" he asked. Stump ignored Chorizo and scanned the multiple pools of water that joined together into one big one.

Chorizo silently turned to me and Kinski. "We're gonna have to cross. The thought made me nervous. I had no idea how deep it was. Stump and Chorizo didnt hesitate and calmly bagan to walk through the water. The water rose and instantly came up to their chests. Their arms were lifted up near their ears as they continued to slowly walk across the water. Kinski lowered his down to me.

"It doesnt look zat deep," he observed. I knew he meant well; trying to keep me from thinking about the last time we encountered so much water and I almost drowned. I shook the thought away and held his arm tightly. "I know. You ready to cross?" I asked him in a soft voice. "Vready if you are," he said back. With that said, we took our time walking into the water. I held my breath when the water began to rise to my waist. Kinski moved his free hand over to me and touched my right wing, comforting me.

I stopped dead in my tracks when the water slapped up against my chest. Kinski stiffled a gasp when the cold water splashed against his wound. The water surrounding him began to turn pink from his blood. I stared down at the water and began to panic. I wanted to go back, I couldnt do this, the water was going to pull me in and drown me. Kinski squeezed my wing. "Is ok, I vont let you drown," he said. I still didnt move. I was breathing heavily. I began to feel ill. I started to turn back, but Kinski kept me from going back. "Banshee, ve're almost zere. I got you," he assured me.

I looked up and noticed Stump and Chorizo standing at the edge, soaked. "Wha's takin' you two so long? Hurry up!" snapped Chorizo. Kinski shot the shrew a glare. "Shut yer gob, Cho!" he shouted. Chorizo spat the ground and glared at us. Kinski turned his head back to me. With one swift movement, he pushed me forward. I gasped as the cold water came up to my neck. I grabbed for Kinski.

"Is ok," he said. The water gradually began to lower. Our clothes resurfaced and began to drip repeatedly. Step by step, we made it out of the water and back onto the damp land. Kinski lost his footing, causing both of us to fall.

Kinski let go of me and groaned loudly as he curled up into a ball around his wound. I sat there on all fours, trembling after that traumatizing event. Gradually, I got up, just as Stump and Chorizo walked past me and helped Kinski up. I slowly turned myself around to face them. I came over and wrapped my wings around Kinski. Chorizo huffed angrily, then moved away from us. Stump just sighed and shook his head, while Kinski continued to keep his head low. Both of his paws were over his wound now, with fresh blood oozing out.

We both looked over at Stump when his head suddenly snapped up and stared off toward the distance. We watched as he walked off and stop a good distance away from us. Stump stared off toward the distance. The blood on him had darkened on his soaked clothes.

"We're here," he answered. Kinski and I looked up toward him and approached him. Chorizo stopped shaking the water from his sombrero and came up next to his short friend. We all stared up at the place Stump offered to stay: Bill's hotel.


	33. Chapter 33: Keeping Secrets

We all stared up at the hotel. The sun was beginning to set to the left of us, the dark clouds covered half of it, taking away it's beauty. The sprinkling rain began to beat harder on us. I didnt want to go inside Bill's old hotel, but we had no choice. We picked up our pace and made our way through the muddy and cold soil and up to the huge door of the hotel. Kinski stared off at the sunset, then winced in pain from his side. Chorizo opened the door, and Stump helped me support Kinski into the huge room. Chorizo closed the door after us as we walked into the place.

"Kinda creepy in 'ere," said Stump. Chorizo rolled his eyes. "That's because there's no light in 'ere. I'll go find a lantern or something. He said as he walked down the huge room and disappeared into another room. Outside, the rain pattered against the elaborate windows. The curtains were drawn, but barely any light entered into the place, even the sunset wasnt strong enough.

Kinski groaned again and began to use his nails to dig into his flesh and pry out the bullet. He cursed a couple times and turned to Stump. "Do ya have anyzin' sharp I could use?" he asked desperately. Stump felt around himself, then reached into the inside of his vest. As he did, he pulled out a scrap of cloth. Kinski and I instantly knew what it was and looked up at Stump. Stump averted his eyes from us as he stuffed it back into his vest and pulled out a small knife.

"Here," he said, handing it to Kinski. Kinski grabbed it and slowly went down to the ground. I let go of his arms and watched as he smoothed out the area where he got shot. Wincing in the dim light, heplaced the tip of the knife next to where the bullet was and stuck the knife into his side. I instantly felt sick and looked away. The sight of it made me feel very ill. I could hear Kinski grunt and groan in pain. The sickening sounds of the blade running against flesh made me want to hurl. My legs began to grow weak.

Finally, he gasped, and the sound of the bullet clattering to the floor. I turned myself back to Kinski and found him sprawled on his side, gasping and heaving. A pool of blood began to form around his shaking body. I gasped and went down on my knees next to him and lifted his head. My throat began to close up and I began to feel nauscious and light headed.

Kinski's droopy ears lightly ran across the bloody floor, making the tips red. His eyes were wide and stared off. Stump came up to Kinski and me and bended down. "Here, let's help him up," he said. I nodded and we both helped Kinski sit upright. Just as we did, Chorizo came back with a lit lantern. He stopped and stared at all the blood loss. _"¡Dios mío!_ Kinski! What the hell happened?!" Chorizo said. Kinski blinked slow hard blinks, then shook his head slowly and got up. "I was jus' gettin' ze b...bullet ou'..." he said. Chorizo still stared at the hunchback jackrabbit in shock. Kinski continued. "...vhere's ze bathroom?" he asked, then rubbed his head.

Chorizo snapped out of his state of shock and pointed behind him. "Down the hallway at the end to the right. Take a shower," Chorizo said. Kinski nodded. I began to follow him, but Kinski stopped me. "No, I'm fine. I can manage," he told me. I stared up at him nervously. "Are you sure?" I asked him. Kinski nodded. "Jes," he said. I hesitated when he left. Kinski stopped for a minute and held his head as he leaned against the wall, then continued on and disappeared down the dark hallway. I began to take one step after him, but stopped when a hand touched my shoulder. I turned around and found Stump standing behind me.

"He said he could manage. Let him take care of 'imself. He's been through worse situations then a bullet wound," said Stump.

* * *

_Kinski..._

_Kinski left Banshee and the others as he made his way to the shower. He stopped when he noticed something in the room to his left. He staggered inside and found a dresser full of clothes. Kinski stared down at his damp, bloody coverall. He was going to need a new set of clothes to wear. He picked out a baggy pair of black jeans and a dark blue buttoned long sleeve shirt then made his way across to the bathroom. _

_ It was a huge room with beautiful decorations and pale blue marble floors. Kinski placed the clothes on the floor, then placed his hands on the sides of the sink and waited for the horrible feeling to go away. He felt lighteaded and sick. Slowly, he lifted his head and stared at himself in the mirror. It's been a while since he's seen himself. His wide, wild eyes stared through his blood tipped bangs. He looked hideous to himself. _

_He slowly lifted his hand and touched the side of his rough face. He needed a shave. One side of his face was covered in blood. Just as he was staring in disgust at himself his eyes flickered over to the reflection of the shower. He turned himself around and stared straight at the shower. He sneered. He never liked showers. He hated the feeling, but he needed one now. Kinski took off his orange coverall and turned the water on. He felt the water with his furry fingers till it got to how he liked it. _

_He got into the shower and let the water touch his hair. The feeling of the warm water made him feel a lot better. He groaned in pain when the water ran over his wound and turned it away from the water. He closed his eyes tightly from the stinging pain and clenched his teeth. Grqadually, the pain subsided. Kinski relaxed a bit and sighted, rubbing his face. What time was it? It had to be night by now. His half immortal side had to be healing himself by now. __He stared down at his wound. Nothing. He decided to just wait and ignore the pain for now. Kinski turned his head upward to the warm water and let and just run down his face. _

_When he lowered his head, his eyes flickered over to a bar of soap in a little soap holder. _

_He narrowed his eyes a bit at the soap. When he was young, he remembered how his caretaker at the orphanage would wash him with soap. He hated it. The soap always got into his eyes and ears. The caretaker grabbed him roughly by the hair when he began to fight her and made him go into his room after without any supper. Kinski lightly touched the top of his head as if he could still feel the pain from that horrible memory. The caretaker was mean to him occasionally, but she was also the only person who was kind to him...Banshee was the second. _

_He stared at the soap, then down at the palms of his hands. They were dirty and the inside of his fingernails were black. He hadn't had a decent bath in years; he might as well get it over with. He turned his head back to the soap and grabbed it. _

_As he washed himself with soap, he looked down at the wound on his side. The blood was beginning to disappear, but it wasnt disappearing as fast as it used to. It was strange. The pain left him, and Kinski let the water wash the blood away. He stared at the wound. The wound was shrinking at a very slow pace, slower then usual. Kinski started to wonder if Bill, Stump, and Chorizo were having the same problems as he was. He hoped. He didnt want to be the only one with the problem. _

_With that, Kinski turned off the water and got out of the shower. He grabbed a towel near him and dried himself off as best as he could, and started getting into his clothes. Just as he was pulling his borrowed baggy jeans up, he noticed something at the corner of his eye. He turned and jumped. Bill leaned against the doorway. Kinski took a step back, his hump pressed against the other side, away from Bill. "Vhere ze hell-?!" started the hunchback jackrabbit.__ Bill crossed his stubby fat arms. _

"_Oh shut up you freak! I would think that it would have gotten through yer thick skull that this is my hotel!" he snapped. Kinski stared at Bill in shock. He thought he was still with Blor. Gradually, Kinski relaxed, then rolled his eyes. "Oh ja, sure, vhy didn't ya come out and stop us zen, huh?" he asked as he pulled the borrowed shirt on and began to button it up. _

_Bill growled. "If ya havent noticed, Blor's men are out there! They are after me and mos' likely you idiots too, so we all should keep our traps shut and not bring attention to this place!" he shouted. Kinski just rolled his eyes and shrugged. "So? Ve're half immortals, is not like zey can do any damage to us at night, jes?" he asked in his German accent. Bill stared at the hunchback jackrabbit as if his brain just evaporated from his skull. _

"_Haven't you noticed?" he asked. Kinski's eyes were still furrowed as he slightly cocked his head in confusion. "…vhat? Havent noticed vhat?" he asked, but he assumed he knew what Bill was talking about. Bill sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "You don't know…" he sighed angrily. Then he focused his eyes back to Kinski. _

"_How come I'm always the only one who notices these things first?" he growled. Kinski bared his teeth. "__I've been runnin' fer my life! and if ya don't vremember, I just got my brain varped jus' a couple days ago! Is been a rough week fer me so shut yer gob!" he snarled. Bill spat the ground. _

"_Our half immortal curse, ya twit," Bill said. Kinski raised his shoulders a bit. Bill noticed it, but didnt say anything. Kinski looked away. Vh-vhat about it?" he asked. Bill sighed again. "It's not permanent, when was the last time you got shot in yer immortal state? Haven't you tried to check and see if you were still immortal at night?" Bill asked. Kinski's eyes flickered down to where his wound once was, then back up to Bill. "No... vhy should I?" Kinski lied. _

_"This is why," Bill said. With that, Bill raised his gun and shot Kinski in the stomach. _

_Kinski felt the bullet dig right into his flesh. He stiffled a scream and clutched his stomach. Kinski looked down and noticed a blot of red blood forming on the shirt. The blood stayed there. Kinski's eyes widened, and started to breathe heavily. Bill lowered his gun and placed it back in its' holster._

"_You knew," said Bill, narrowing his eyes. Kinski looked up at Bill, panicking. "I-it vasn't zat bad vhen I got hurt ze las' time! honest!" Kinski said, his eyes wide and full of fear. Bill still had his eyes narrowed. "Our immortality is slowly fading away. It's only temporary," he explained. Kinski's mouth dropped open slightly. "No…no! it can't be! I cant die!" Kinski screamed. He breathed heavily and lowered his head. After a couple seconds of calming down, Kinski slowly lifted his head back to Bill. "H-how long do ve 'ave till ve're 'pushin' up daisies'? Kinski asked. Bill sighed, shifting his belt around his pants. _

"_I dunno, I'm guessing in a week," he said. Kinski stared at Bill. "Vhy did you vant to tell me zis. I thought you hated me." Bill narrowed his eyes again. "I still do. I jus' wanted to make sure I wasnt the only one," he said, but to Kinski, it didnt seem like that was it. Bill shook his head. "Yeah, possibly we'll be dead within the week, but I ain't writin' my death will yet, I'm gonna find that bloomin' black spider to make me permanently immortal!" Bill snarled, raising his voice. Then it was Kinski's turn to narrow his eyes. "You'll be dead before zat 'appens! I'll make sure of zat!" he shouted. Bill snorted. _

"_We'll see about that, hunchback, and git out of my hotel, you guys ain't allowed here," Bill snarled. Kinski sneered, as he did, he turned around and grabbed a random porcelain vase. "I'll show you who can't be in ze 'otel!" he shouted as he whipped back around and chucked the vase. The vase crashed against the wall. Kinski blinked. Bill was gone. Kinski stared at the wall and the mark the vase made against it, and cursed angrily. _

_..._

_"Wait, wait, hold on, K. Are you saying that you spoke to Bill?" asked Stump. Kinski nodded. "Bill is in ze 'otel. He told me abou' how are immortal side is not permanent," he explained. Stump and Chorizo gave Kinski a blank look. "Bill told you this?" he asked. "Jes!" Kinski said, getting a bit irritated. Stump and Chorizo exchanged glances. _

_"Why would he tell you this? Sounds kinda suspicious," said Chorizo. Stump nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I thought he was still with Blor," he said. Kinski shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe Blor betrayed him or somezin'," Kinski guessed. Stump snickered. _Serves 'im righ'_, thought Stump. _

_"Well, how long do we have then?" asked Chorizo. Kinski sighed and stared down at the ground. "A veek, maybe less," he said in a sad voice. Stump stared up at Kinski with concern. Maybe Kinski wasnt delerious. Maybe he really did see Bill and was telling the truth. The thought made Stump feel very uneasy. _

_"What are we going to do?" asked Stump. Kinski shrugged. "I vish I knew," he said. Kinski sighed sadly. Chorizo narrowed his eyes. "I think Bill is jus' playin' with ya, amigo. He jus' wants ta git in yer head and make you believe." Kinski shook his head. "He's tellin ze truth," he said._

_ Chorizo raised an eyebrow. "What makes ya say that?" he asked. Kinski lifted his head up to his friends. He slowly lifted his hands up to the top of his shirt and began to unbutton it. When he got down to the middle, he revealed the wound in his chest. The blood was still oozing out. _

_Stump and Chorizo gasped at the sight. The wound didnt look like it was healing itself at all, even though outside it was night out. Kinski buttoned his shirt back up, but not the last button and lowered his hands. "Bill is telling ze truth, ve are going to die, possbly vithin ze veek," Kinski explained. Stump and Chorizo went quiet. They stared up at the tall jackrabbit in shock. _

_How could this be? Why now? Why? _

_Stump thought of Brim and how he might never be able to be with her. He wanted to tell her he loved her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Stump held back the tears and sighed. Chorizo sighed as well and thought of all the fun times he had when he was young. The times with his friends, the times when he got away with almost everything, and was able to escape the cold clutches of death...now, he was a sitting duck. He couldnt escape this one._

_Chorizo turned his head up to Kinski. Kinski had his head low. "How are you goin' to tell Banshee then, _amigo_?" asked Chorizo. Kinski was quiet for a minute, then he spoke. "I...I...dont know...I dont know if I could...I m-" Kinski stopped in midsentence and snapped his head up. He turned his head as he looked around the room. Banshee wasnt around. His eyes widened and he began to panic. "Vhere's Banshee?!" he shouted. Stump and Chorizo looked around the room. Banshee wasnt in the room._

_"I dont-" "Oh God! Banshee!" screamed Kinski as he bolted away and began searching for Banshee. Stump and Chorizo watched as Kinski bolted down the hallway in search for Banshee. After a couple minutes, Kinski stopped in the middle of the room with his hands pulling at his hair. "Oh God! Oh God! Banshee!" Kinski said out loud to himself. _

_An image of Bill pointing a gun at Banshee appeared in his mind. He flinched in fear and shook his head. "Vhere vould she be? Vhere vould she-?" Kinski stopped and he stood there, eyes wide. __Stump and Chorizo stared at their frozen friend with concern. Slowly, Kinski removed his hands from his hair and looked up. Stump and Chorizo looked up as well. __Kinski turned his head to the stairs and bolted up them. _

Please be zere, please be zere, please be zere,_ he thought as he made his way up the stairs..._

* * *

...

I sat on top of the roof of the hotel. I was wearing a simple sleeveless grey dress I found in one of the rooms. It rustled in the cool breese as I gazed out over the desert land. The rain had stopped. I had watched the sunset disappear over the deep purple mountains, and the silvery stars come out one by one. The clouds covered half of the sky, but I was still able to see the beautiful sky blazing with the billions of stars. I sighed and stared out over to Dirt. In the heart of it, the town stood in the darkest area. Rain poured down and lightning flashed around it.

I had no idea how we were going to stop Blor now. He was too powerful. There were too many immortal soldiers and just four of us. We needed more- "Banshee!" called a voice. My ears shot straight up and I turned my head. The door to the rooftop opened and Kinski appeared, dressed in a pair of baggy jeans and a dark blue buttoned up shirt. He spotted me and sighed with relif and smiled.

"Ah...Banshee... I knew you'd be up 'ere... You never missed a sunset. Jes?"

I smiled and looked away. Kinski came up to the edge where I was sitting and sat down next to me. He wrapped his arms around me and leaned his head against my shoulder. "You scared ze hell out of me vhen I couldnt find you anzyvhere," he said in a low voice, but smiled a small smile. I gave him a look. "I told Stump and Chorizo where I was going," I said. Kinski lifted his head up to me.

"But zey said..." his voice faded away, then he narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. "Damn bastards!" he growled. He breathed heavily in anger, then sighed and began to calm down. As he did, his eyes flickered to me. His left eyebrow raised curiously as he lifted something that was around my neck. "Vhere did ya git zis?" he asked as he stared down at the leather pouch that held his jacks. I stared down at it. I almost forgot about them.

I wrapped the tips of my wing around his that held the pouch. "When you threw it, I found it in the mud," I explained. Kinski lifted his eyes up to me. I continued. "I...I couldnt just leave them there. They're yours," I said. Kinski didnt say anything. Silently, I lifted the leather cord from around my neck and handed the possession over to him. Kinski accepted them and stared down at the pouch. He opened it up and poured the jacks into his open palmed hand and stared down at them.

After staring at them for a minute, he poured them back into the dark leather pouch, tightened the end back up and placed the necklace back over my head. "You keep zem. Zey are no longer useful to me," he said, running his fingers lightly down on each side and stopping at the pouch that rested against my chest. His eyes slowly made their way up to mine. He smiled a small smile. I smiled back.

As I did, my eyes flickered down to his longsleeve shirt. I realized that there was a dry bloodstain on the front of it. My smile disappeared and my eyes widened in horror. "Oh my gosh, what happened?" I asked him. Kinski stopped smiling and looked down at the front of his shirt. He quickly folded his arms around it. "I...is nozing. Nozin' to vorry abou'" he said, smiling a small, innocent smile. I stared at him in shock. "Kinski-" I started, but was interrupted when a loud boom went off. I jumped and turned my head. The storm was louder, possibly closer. Lightning flashed and the rain seemed to be coming back.

Kinski and I stared out at the storm and the town in the middle of it. After a couple seconds, light droplets of rain splattered against my nose and mouth. Kinski placed his hands on my shoulders. "Le's go inside, jes?" he asked. I looked out one last time at the town before nodding. Kinski got up before me and helped me up. As we both walked along the rooftop, I couldnt help but stare at the dry bloodstain on his chest.

...

When we began walking down the stairs, the rain outside came down harder and ran down the surface of the glass windows. Lightning suddenly flashed, illuminating the inside of the rooms. Kinski had his arm around my shoulders as we made our way back down to ground level. I jumped and almost fell when the thunder boomed loudly overhead.

Kinski grabbed my wing, and held me tightly. "I got you," he assured me in a low voice. I stared up at him, but then stared at the bloodstain, that now seemed smaller then last time. I looked outside one of the windows. It was pitch black outside. Night. _Why didnt it seem that his body was healing itself?_ I wondered.

We finally got to the bottom of the stairs, safe and sound. We walked down the hallway and found Stump and Chorizo in a huge living room around an enormous fireplace. The fire illuminated the room in a strong, orange glow. It crackled and popped loudly. Stump and Chorizo sat in magenta, over plumped couches as they talked. They stopped talking when they found us approaching them.

"Hey! You found 'er!" said Stump. Kinski gave them a look. "No zanks to you idiots." he muttered gruffly. The two short creatures didnt seem to hear as they pointed to an open couch. "Sit," said Chorizo. Kinski and I walked around the open couch and sat down next to each other. Stump picked up two silver plates piled up with food. "Here, we founf food and-" started Stump, but was interrupted when Kinski grabbed a plate and attacked it greedily like an animal. I thanked Stump and ate the food.

My stomach growled, even when I was eating. I didnt realize I was so hungary. Kinski was done with his food in seconds. Stump and Chorizo laughed. "Man, that must've been a new record," said Stump. Kinski smirked and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and flicked his droopy ears over his shoulders. I continued to eat as the boys small talked to each other, then it died off and they silently looked away from each other. Kinski's eyes instantly went over to the fire and stared at it.

I finished my food and looked around in the room.

The place was heavily decorated in gold trim. The walls were smooth opal with beautiful colors and huge elaborate painted portraits of the desert and a couple animals in expensive clothes. Above was a ginormous crystal chandelier with pearls and emeralds hanging down from silver chains. The dark oak tables were carved with detailed flowers and cacti. On top were white lace cloths and porcelain vases with huge bouquets of deep red roses. The floor was polished pale pink quartz, but blazed orange from the gold leaf designed marble fireplace.

The rain drummed against the tall windows that stood out on each side of the fireplace. We all sat in the room, quiet. I lowered my head down to my lap and stared at my wings. The fire warmed me up from the cold, but it felt very awkward, sitting here without anyone talking. I sighed and turned to Kinski. Kinski continued to stare at the fire.

"Kinski?" I asked. Kinski jumped and turned around. "Vh-vhat?" he asked nervously. He seemed very tense. My eyes went back down to the stain on his shirt, but he quickly folded his arms back up over it. "Kinski, what's wrong? Why do you have a bloodstain on your shirt?" I asked. Stump and Chorizo looked up at us. "You didnt tell her?" asked Stump. Kinski threw him a glare.

"I'll tell 'er-" "When?" asked Chorizo, but secretly he seemed to be enjoying this. "I said I'll tell 'er-!" "What? tell me what?" I asked. Kinski turned his head to me. He opened his mouth, but stopped when we all heard a strange noise. We stiffened and went dead quiet. Our ears alerted. A couple seconds of silence passed. Stump and Chorizo slowly turned their heads to us. Stump pointed to the wooden double doors halfway across the room on the other side. He gave us little hand signals, silently telling us that Chorizo and him were going to go check it out. Kinski and I silently nodded.

With that, the two short creatures got up and silently made their way across the room and peeked through the cracks in the doors. They silently opened them up, and disappeared through them. Leaving me and Kinski in the room, alone.

I exhaled and rested my head against the couch. As I was, my eyes noticed Kinski staring at me. My eyes flickered over to him, then I turned my head. He was smirking. I averted my eyes from him and stared down at his shirt. The stain was gone.

I didnt have time to wonder about it when Kinski scooted closer to me and ran his left hand through my hair. I moved my head back in confusion. "Kinski? What's wrong with you?" I asked him. Kinski just grinned. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" he asked. I gave him a blank look, then felt my face beginning to burn up and looked away.

Suddenly, I felt Kinski come closer and loomed over me. I felt myself move away, then felt my back lightly hit against the arm of the chair. I looked up at Kinski. Kinski's arms came on either side of me, then leaned down and kissed me deeply on the lips. My eyes widened a bit, frozen for a minute. Gradually, my shoulders relaxed a bit and I closed my eyes and kissed him back.

Our make out was cut short when Stump came into the room. He blinked in surprise, then snapped out of his stare and cleared his throat. "Um...Kinski?" he asked. I opened my eyes. Kinski moved his head away from me and sighed. "Vhat?!" he asked angrily as he whipped his head around to Stump. Stump blinked in surprise and took a step back. "Um...I-er-w-we" he stuttered. Kinski snarled as he waited impatiently for Stump to tell him something that was more important then what he was doing a few seconds ago.

Stump finally blurted it out. "Y-you need to see something _right now," _Stump said in a loud whisper. In his eyes he looked really nervous and very anxious to show Kinski. Kinski's glaring eyes burned out as he stared up at the stout rabbit. "...Ok, I'll be zere in a minute," he said in a calm voice. Stump nodded. His eyes flickered over to me for a second, then turned on his heels and briskly walked back the way he came from.

Kinski turned his head back to me. "I sorry, I need to see vhat Stump has to show me. Stay 'ere, I be back in a minute," he promised with a small smile. With that, he gave me a quick kiss on the mouth before getting up and walked with a slight lurch out of the room.

Just as he closed the door behind him, I instantly got up and tiptoed toward the door. I was too curious to know what was going on. I had the right to know what was going on as much as the boys did. I opened the door just a crack and found the three boys just across a dark, dim hallway with their backs facing me. They were peeking through another door through a crack which brough in a sliver of light. My ears perked up when they began whispering amongst themselves.

"He's in zere?" asked Kinski in a whisper. Stump nodded. "Yeah," answered Stump. Kinski peeked through the door. I couldnt quite see past them them, to see who they were talking about, but kept quiet and continued watching them. The boy's were quiet for a minute, then Chorizo finally spoke up. "So...what do we do now?" he asked. "Should we..." Chorizo's sentence faltered as he made a slicing gesture across his throat.

"Soun's kinda like the righ' idea..." Stump whispered, but there was something in his voice that sounded like he didnt want to do it. Kinski snarled softly, "Ve can't. He's immortal righ' now, maybe ve could-" "You bloats were never quiet when it came to killing someone," said a familiar Cockney accented voice. The three cursed under their breaths as they straightened up and walked through the doors into the room they were peeking into. I caught a glimpse of inside the room and spotted the Gila monster in his best suit. Bill. My eyes widened. Bill. What was he doing here? Wasnt he with Blor? How did Kinski, Chorizo and Stump find out?

When the three boys walked into the room and closed the doors behind them, I snuck across and peeked through the doors where they once stood and listened to their conversation. The room was small, like for an office or a place to relax. There was a huge window that was on the opposite side of the room from where I was, and looked out to the faint town of Dirt, which had a faint light from flaming torches. The small room only had one light on from a stained glass lamp that gave off a red purple color. An oak desk sat in the corner, and a couple expensive decorative pots filled with exotic plants filled the little room to make it seem more nice.

Bill faced Kinski, Chorizo and Stump. His back turned to the window. He glared at the three boys he once had as his henchmen. "So, here we are. After workin' wit' eachother fer so many years...an' now this," he said, gesturing to his men. The boys didnt say anything. I bet they still felt stupid for getting caught. Bill continued. "You go against me. For all the things I had to sacrifice-" "Vhat sacrifice vas zat?!" snapped Kinski. Bill glared and turned his head to the hunchback.

"To go along with what that stupid Blor wanted! To prevent him from murdering you lot! He thought you three were as useful as a one wheeled wagon!" Bill shouted. The three flinched. Bill growled. "I made him think otherwise, and he agreed. For that, I sacrificed to share my body with him to be able to enter into this world... jus' so we could stop livin' in that crap hole we call a home, an' live in a nicer place ta live, ta eat, an' actually sleep in real beds!" Bill snarled. "But no, you decided to toss that all away an' go yer own ways. You decided to go against it all."

Kinski, Chorizo and Stump shifted from one foot to the next. A couple times they exchanged glances, but they didnt say anything. Bill sneered as he glanced at each and every one of them, then continued. "Why? Why did you boys go against me?" Bill focused his attention to Stump and Chorizo. "I know Kinski's excuse, what's yer guys' excuse?" he asked.

Stump and Chorizo averted their eyes and stared down at the ground. Bill bared his teeth a bit. "Besides wanting Kinski back in the gang, you two had something else. Something deeper..." Bill added. Stump's shoulders raised a bit. I was guessing he was thinking of Brim. Bill turned his focus to Stump. "Stump? Care to share?" he asked. Stump hesitated, then shook his head. Bill narrowed his small eyes.

"Shouldnt bother lettin' ya tell. I know you had a soft spot fer that immortal lass, whas' 'er name? Brim?" he asked. Stump's eyes widened. Bill's mouth seemed to curl up into a smirk. Kinski narrowed his eyes and spoke up. "If yer so angry abou' us goin' against ya and Blor, vhy are you 'ere and not vith Blor zen?" he asked. Bill turned his head over to Kinski and growled.

"Its nothin' o' yer concern-" "I vould zink so! Blor jus' betrayed ya didnt he? He's now possessin' somevone elses body, jes? You two vouldnt be over 'ere if yer goal vas to take over ze tow-" "Shut up you freak!" yelled Bill as he took a step forward and slashed at Kinski. Kinski jerked his head away, but Bill's sharp claws still raked across his face. Kinski scremed and placed his hands on his face as he staggered backwards. I gasped and began to open the door, but something inside me preventing me from being seen.

Kinski lowered his hands from his face. Blood stained the inside of his hands. Kinski bared his teeth. With that, he whipped his head to Bill with anger in his eyes and began to approach Bill. Stump and Chorizo grabbed Kinski's arms and tried holding him back. Kinski screamed and thrashed his arms violently, trying to reach for Bill and rip his face off. Kinski reached down, pulled his gun out of its' holster and fired it at Bill. Bill staggered back a bit from the shot. A huge red bloodstain began to bleed on his white shirt. Bill stared down at his bleeding chest before slowly lifting his head up to the hunchback.

"Jus' be glad I'm lettin' you off this time, huncback," he snarled. Kinski stopped fighting his friends and spat the ground before turning around. Bill bared his teeth. "I want you four out of my hotel and on yours way, or you wont be findin yerselves wakin' ups in the mornin,'" he threatened. Kinski's hands balled up into fists and he whipped his head back over to Bill. "Ve aint leavin' till ve vant to!" "No you aint! git out, now!" shouted Bill over Kinski. Kinski growled loudly. With that, he turned his head, grabbed a nearby pot with a plant inside and whipped back around. "Go to hell!" he yelled and chucked it toward Bill's direction. The pot smashed against the wall, close to the window. Bill was gone.

Kinski's breathing became very heavy as he stared at where Bill was, then he screamed and began to tear the place apart. He picked up another pot and chucked it at the window, where it smashed into a billion pieces, then he grabbed a chair and crashed it against the desk before chucking it across the room. I felt myself able to move and burst into the room"Kinski! Kinski! Stop!" I yelled. Kinski turned his head, just as he was about to chuck another potted plant across the room. His eyes widened behind his bangs. "Banshee," he said. Stump quickly grabbed the vase from his hands. Kinski didnt seem to notice and slowly lowered his arms down as he stared at me.

I narrowed my eyes. "Why didnt you tell me?" I asked, beginning to feel very furious that he didnt tell me that Bill was in the hotel. Kinski snapped out of his state and took a step toward me. "Banshee I-" he started. I shook my head and began to turn back and walk out of the room. I sighed angrily as I walked at a brisk pace away from him. Why didnt he tell me? Why did he keep it a secret from me? My wings were balled up tightly against my sides.

...

It was late, so we all decided to go to bed. We all chose our own rooms to sleep in for the night. Kinski tried talking to me, but I ignored him and closed the door behind me. I still couldnt believe that he didnt tell me about Bill. We were a team, we had to tell each other what was going on. I didnt want to be left in the dark while they go and try to figure things out. I wanted to be a part of it.

I huffed angrily and turned out the light and tucked the covers up to my chin. Just then, I heard my door open. My eyes instantly opened and I sat bolt upright. Suddenly, a little light came on from a lantern. Kinski's face appeared. "Is only me," he said. I narrowed my eyes and laid back down. Kinski stood there for a minute, then snuffed out the light and walked into my room.

"Banshee, I-" "Go to bed, Kinski," I said firmly. Kinski stopped. "...Banshee..." his voice seemed to falter a bit. "I...I vas only trying to protect you," he finally said. Then, he lifted the covers and crawled into bed. I felt his chest touch my back and his arms wrap around my waist. "I dont vant you to get hurt," he whispered. I turned my head over to his sillouette in the darkness. "I dont need protection, and I'm not going to get hurt. I need to be told these things, Kinski. You need to stop keeping secrets from me and start telling me," I said. Kinski sighed, his warm breath rustled the back of my hair.

"Ok...I promise," he said. I rested my head back down on the pillow and closed my eyes. "Banshee?" Kinski asked. I sighed. "What?" I asked. "...I...I need to tell you somezing...somezing important..." he said. I yawned. "You can tell me in the morning," I said. I felt Kinski's head slightly nod against the back of my head. "Ok...Banshee?" he asked again. I kept my eyes closed. "What, Kinski?" I asked. "...I love you," he said. I felt my heart skip a beat. Mixed emotions ran through me. "...I love you too, Kinski," I answered back.

Kinski shifted closer to me. His nose twitched against my neck, giving me goosebumps. I instantly felt very warm and fell fast asleep...


	34. Chapter 34: Choices to Make

_Dirt (The jail)..._

_Brim and Luminite sat in their cells, chained to the walls. Brim touched her empty sheaths as she sat on the cold wooden banch, thinking of Stump. She was so worried about him. Why did he leave? She sighed. It was for the best. It made her feel a little better, knowing he wasnt being tortured by Blor, but the thought of him out there...she wanted to know if e was safe..._

_Luminite made a low growl of frustration and chucked a rock across the room. It crashed into the wall on the other side, making a small crater. Luminite breathed heavily before lowering his head and closing his eyes and stood there, frustrated._

_ Brim sighed and looked up at him. She opened her mouth, but then closed it. She decided not to speak with him, he was too angry and would yell at her again. He was scared. She was too. They had no idea what was going to happen. Brim looked out past the gloomy weather and out to where a bit of visible sun was seen. _

_Brim stared out, hoping to see Banshee...or Kinski...or even Stump..._

_...hopefully Stump. _

_She wanted to see them alive and well and with an army or something to stop Blor with. Brim sighed as she felt tears come to her huge blue eyes. Everything seemed hopeless...if only she knew if Banshee and the others who escaped were ok. She wanted to know if they were going to come back-_

_Brim's thoughts were interrupted when she heard Luminite's chains clink and rattle against each other. She looked up just as he violently charged at the wall and crashed against it with a great force. His dirty wings drooped around him as he collaped to the ground in pain and exhaustion. Brim quickly got up and ran over to him. _

_"Luminite! What are you doing?" she asked as she tried to help him up. Luminite shrugged her white hands away. "What does it look like I'm doing?! I'm trying to get out of here! I hate being stuck in one place!" he screamed. Brim's eyes widened in shock at Luminite. With that, she slowly got up and stood over him. Luminite's eyes flickered rage as he glared up at her. Gradully his eyes softened and he looked down at the ground. _

_"I'm sorry, Brim...I...I dont know what came over me..." he admitted and sat cross legged on the ground with his ears down in sadness. Brim slowly went down on her knees and touched his shoulder. _

_"It's ok, Luminite. You're just afraid...I know. This is all very confusing...but, remember the prophecy. If this is how the prophecy said was going to happen...then it will...then...maybe something will happen, I mean, you said so yourself: Rattlesnake Jake was supposed to be the one to take down Blor...and...maybe something will happen..." she said with a small smile. _

_Luminite turned his white head up to her and nodded his head. _

_"I hope so, Brim..." he said. _

_"I hope so..."_

_..._

* * *

_Bill's Hotel..._

_I dreamed I was back in the town of Dirt. Everyone was moving around in a blur; I had no idea what was going on. I forgot all about them when I saw Kinski collapse a couple feet from me. "No!" I screamed. I ran up to him and went down on my knees near his body. I gently lifted his upper torso. His head drooped. I felt tears come out of my eyes as I forced his head up to mine. Kinski's eyes slowly fluttered open. His mouth hung slightly open. __"I'm...s-sorry," he said. I held his head in my wings. "Wh-what? What are y-you s-sorry for?" I asked him, confused. I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Kinski blinked a slow blink. _

_"I...didnt vant...you to...vorry..." he said. He was slipping from my wings. With the last of his strength, he lifted up his hand and touched the side of my face. I cried and pulled him closer. __"Please don't leave me," I cried, more tears came down. Kinski looked at me with sadness. "I...can't promise...you...zat...I...I'm...sorry...I...love...y-..." Kinski closed his eyes. His head went back and his arms went limp. He was gone. My eyes widened. "Kinski! Kinski! No! No! No!" I screamed and shook the limp hunchback jackrabbit. Kinski didnt move. He was gone..._

I screamed myself awake as I sat bolt upright in bed and began to sob. I felt Kinski shift next to me. "Mmph?" he groaned and slowly sat upright next to me. Tears spilled down my face. "Banshee? Vas vrong?" Kinski asked as I felt his warm body come up close to mine. My shoulders trembled as I turned to him and buried my face in his longsleeve shirt. He wrapped his arms around me. "I-it w-w-was horr-rib-ble," I sobbed. Kinski lightly stroked the top of my head. "It vas jus' a nightmare..." he said. I shook my head. "N-no...It...it felt so real..." I said between quick gasps of air.

Kinski tried calming me down. "Nightmares alvays feel real...but zey arent...zey are jus' zings from yer past...coming back to haunt you..." Kinski's voice seemed to fade away as he went off in his own thoughts. I looked up at him. I could barely see his face in the darkness. He was thinking about his nightmares. I took a shaky deep breath and exhaled.

"I...dont think so...ever since I came to Dirt...my dreams seemed to...always come ture...as if they were telling me the future..." I said. Kinski was silent. Then, he threw the covers from us. "Le's go get ya a drink of vater, jes?" he asked, changing the subject. I nodded. Kinski led me out of the room and down the hallway, down the stairs and through a huge buffet room. Kinski turned on one light, giving some light to the room. I sat down at one of the tables while Kinski went off to the kitchen to get a glass of water for me.

The buffet had sea blue walls with brass bars and huge framed pictures of expensive gourmet foods. The buffet island tables were isolated in the corners, empty. There were twenty tables scattered around the room carved out of white marble and the chairs were wood with dark blue cushions. The place was decorated like an oasis with lushious plants and majenta flowers with purple vines pouring out of the deep turquiose vases. A waterfall was seen on the other side and a pond full of sleeping exotic fish...either sleeping or dead.

Kinski came back a couple minutes later with a crystal glass filled up to the brim with clear water. He sat down across from me and handed me the glass. He watched me as I drank. I lowered the glass down and wiped my wet mouth with the back of my wing. Kinski just sat there quietly with his hands resting on the table. His head began to droop and his eyes gradually closed. He began to doze off but then snapped out of it and straightened up.

I looked over toward him, feeling a bit guilty. He was being so sweet; even when he really badly wanted to sleep. "Kinski, you can go back to bed," I said. Kinski blinked a couple hard blinkes to stay awake and shook his head. "No, I'm fine," he said. I stared down at the half filled glass and sighed as my nightmare repeated in my head. Then, I looked back up at Kinski. "Can I tell you my nightmare?" I asked. Kinski gave me a blank expression.

"Vhy vould you vant to do zat?" he asked. I shrugged. "I heard it helps if you tell someone," I answered. Kinski stared at me. "...vreally? no one told me zat..." his voice drifted away and he turned to the side as if he was going back to a memory. His eyes flickered behind his bangs. Thinking. Then he turned back to me. "Ok...if ya vant to," he said. I told him what happened in my nightmare. As I did, Kinski's face changed and the blood seemed to drain from his face. When I was finished, he looked like he looked pale and his eyes were wide and he looked more awake.

"...oh," he said. He looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. Tears came to my eyes. "I dont want it to come true...but they always seem to," I said. "B-but...its j-just a n-nightmare...just like you s-said...right?" I asked him hopefully. Kinski stared up at me. I stared back. His eyes seemed sad, and scared.

After a couple minues of silence, he scooted his chair closer to me and wrapped his arms around me tightly. "Jes, Banshee...is all jus' a nightmare," he said in a shaky voice. I looked up at him. He held me close to him as he buried his face in my shoulder. I wrapped my wings around him and held him close to me.

...

Stump and Chorizo found us later in the morning, asleep at the table. Our heads barely touching eachothers as they rested on the tables. "Hey! rise n' shine, lovebirds! Let's git a movin!" announced Chorizo, causing me to flinch awake. Kinski kept on sleeping, snoring softly. Stump nudged him lightly, but Kinski didnt budge. "We'll wake 'im up later. I dont want to wake 'im up an' git socked in the face like las' time," said Stump when I was about to wake Kinski up myself.

Chorizo narrowed his eyes a bit. "Why were you two in 'ere anyways?" he asked. I didnt answer. Chorizo rolled his eyes as he walked over to the buffet tables and sniffed around for food. Chorizo narrowed his eyes when he saw that there was no food.

"Damn," he muttered, then went skulking off toward the kitchens. Stump slumped down in one of the chairs next to Kinski and looked over to me. "...Why _were_ you two in 'ere? I thought you guys were in yer rooms?" he asked. I nearly had forgotten why we did come into the buffet room.

"I...had a nightmare...that Kinski died...then we came in here and Kinski gave me a drink of water..." I said. Stump stared at me. "You had a dream Kinski died?" he saked. I felt the tears come back to my eyes. I nodded as I looked over at Kinski, who was still sleeping soundly. Sleeping away, living in Dreamland.

I lightly stroked the top of his light colored hair. Kinski shifted into a more comfortable position as he rested his head on his folded arms. He smiled a small smile, as if whatever he was dreaming was giving him happiness. I smiled and more tears ran down my face.

Stump watched us. "I've never seen him happy before you came," he said. I looked away from Kinski and over to Stump. Stump continued. "Ever since you came, he seemed happier. He seemed to act different, especially around you. I never thought he would ever find anyone to like him for who he was...but I was wrong," he said as he smiled up at me. "You seem to brighten up his world...you seem to help him forget his horrible past, and help him make a better future...dont tell Bill or Chorizo I said this, but...I'm actually happy you two got together...even before this whole madness started," Stump said.

I felt myself blushing a bit. I smiled, feeling so much better. Stump jolted when he saw me come toward him and wrap my wings around him. "Thank you, Stump," I said. Stump just sat there in his chair. "Erm...heh... ok ok, tha's enough. Dont want Kinski to wake up an' start usin' me as a punchin' bag," he said, laughing nervously. I stopped hugging him as he began rubbing the back of his head.

Chorizo came back from the kitchen with a huge platter of food. He set it down before us and began eating. The warm, delicious smells woke Kinski up. He lifted his head and opened his eyes as he sniffed the air. His eyes lit up stared down at the food. Without hesitation, he grabbed a handful at the pile of random assortments of food and crammed it into his mouth. He licked his lips as he chowed down on the food and grabbed for more. Chorizo stopped eating and narrowed his eyes at the hunchback.

"Well, _buenos dias, cerdo_." said Chorizo through clenched teeth. Kinski didnt seem to undertand, nor care as he got up and lapped up the butter on the side of the plate that he finished. "Kinski, dont-" I started," "Eh, that's allrigh'. He did that all the time when we were a gang. I'll go git another plate," said Chorizo as he scooted the plate closer to Kinski and got up to get another plate for himself. Stump and I decided to get up as well to get our own breakfast from the kitchen and left Kinski alone to attack his plate in peace.

When we were done, we got ready to leave. "I need to get something from my room, I'll be back," I told the men. Kinski, Chorizo and Stump nodded and watched me leave as I ran up the stairs to the rooms.

...

_Kinski..._

_Kinski sighed and carefully leaned back against the chair. Stump and Chorizo finished eating their food and began packing extra food into a leather satchel they found in one of the rooms. Stump looked over at Kinski's depressed expression on his face. "Wha's wrong, K? Ya dont look that good." Kinski looked over at Stump. "Is nozin.' I...I jus' dont feel good..." he said as he still looked toward the direction where Banshee ran off. _

_Chorizo stopped packing and looked up at his old friend. "Ya didnt tell me why you two were in 'ere," he said. Kinski looked down at his hands. "...Banshee...she had a nightmare...ve vent in 'ere to get 'er a drink of vater...she..." Kinski's voice faltered a bit. Stump stared up at Kinski with concern. "K?" he asked. Kinski winced as he thought of what Banshee told him. _

_Kinski took a deep breath and exhaled. "She told me 'er nightmare...it vas abou' me...She said I died in ze nightmare...I dont know if is jus' a coincidence...but...is almost as if...her dreams can predict ze future..." Kinski said, then buried his face in his hands. "Oh Banshee..." he cried in a muffled voice as he shook his head in his hands. Stump and Chorizo stared at Kinski. Stump lightly patted Kinski on the shoulder. Chorizo crossed his arms. _

_"So, you still didnt tell her? About how we're gonna die in a couple days?" _

_Stump stopped patting Kinski and looked up at Chorizo. Kinski gradually lowered his hands from his face. His red eyes were hidden behind his bangs. He silently shook his head. "I...I couldnt...Seeing 'er all upset...how could I?" he asked, looking up at the shrew. Chorizo opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked down. Kinski sighed and looked down as well. It was quiet for a minute. _

_"Well...how are ya gonna tell the mrs?" Stump asked. Kinski blinked in confusion and looked up. "mrs?" he asked. Stump jerked his head over to the stairs. "Banshee," he responded. Kinski stared at Stump blankly. "Banshee and I aint married," he said. Chorizo looked up. "You arent? I thought you rwo were," he said. Kinski felt the tips of his ears grow hot as he shook his head. "No..." he said. _

_Stump smirked and lightly punched the hunchback in the shoulder. "Aw man, you still havent asked 'er? Wha's takin' ya so long, man? I thought you two would be off raisin' a family by now." Kinski blushed, already beginning to forget about being upset. "Heh, no, no. I..." Kinski stopped in midsentence and thought. Marriage? That seemed impossible. He never pictured himself married...he actually thought he was going to die at a much earlier age, like in his teens when he began robbing banks and rounding up roadrunners and all that. _

_Kinski thought about Banshee. Then he shook his head. "I...dont think...v-vhat if she said no? I mean, she could jus'..." Kinski spluttered as he thought of all the possibilities that could go wrong if he just asked. Stump laughed. "Why would she say no? She loves ya!" Stump pointed out. Kinski couldnt help but grin. Chorizo was the only one not smiling. He had his arms still crossed over his chest. He was actually surprised to hear that Kinski and Banshee werent married. It was a shocker, but it didnt matter anyway now. _

_"Why don't ya ask 'er now?" teased Stump, nudging Kinski. Kinski playfully shoved Stump. Chorizo snorted. "Wouldnt matter anyway, yer dyin' in a couple days," he said. Kinski stopped rough housing with Stump and looked up at Chorizo. Kinski narrowed his eyes. With that, he got up and left. When Kinski was gone, Stump punched Chorizo hard in the shoulder. Chorizo rubbed his sore arm. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" he snarled. Stump narrowed his eyes. _

_"You know damn well know why! Why cant you leave them two alone? They are jus' two people in love," Stump said firmly through clenched rotting teeth. Chorizo snorted and looked away. "Yeah, jus' like you an' Brim," he said. Stump felt the tips of his ears grow hot. "I dont," he lied. Chorizo gave Stump a look. "Oh, come on, Stump. As if no one could tell...and possibly that Banshee got into yer head," the shrew said and closed the satchel and looped the strap over his head. _

_Stump spat a stream of stale tobacco to the side of him and glared at Chorizo. "She didnt get in my head. She just helped me see it in a different perspective. I dont see why we should hate her just for liking K. for who he is. She's just attacted to him, thats all. I think we should be happy for K. that he found the right person, and that he's living a better life now," Stump said. Chorizo was quiet. _

_With that, Stump turned and walked out of the room, leaving Chorizo alone in his thoughts..._

_..._

I went into the room I stayed in last night and grabbed the picture of my parents and me from the nightstand and stared down at it. I took a deep breath and exhaled as I stared down at the happy family. I felt tears come to my eyes again, but choked them down and slipped the picture into the pocket of my grey dress and began walking out of the room.

Just as I was, a rough hand grabbed me and slammed me up against the wall. I tried to scream, but a scaly hand clamped down on my mouth. It was Bill. "Hello, girly," he said grinning. I gasped and began struggling. Bill just laughed at me. "Now I 'ave ya where yer stupid hunchback boyfriend cant get to ya," Bill grinned evilly, revealing a sharp row of teeth. My eyes widened in horror as I continued struggling, but he was too strong. I stopped when he pulled out his bowie knife. He chuckled softly, seeing my scared face as he brought the tip close to my left eye. He lightly ran the tip at an angle down my face, causing my face to draw blood. I could feel the warm blood run down my face, along with my salty tears.

The blade stopped, just to my chin, when Bill noticed the leather pouch around my neck. He stared down at it for a minute, before sheathing his knife and ripping the necklace from my neck. He stared down at it in his claws, then used his index claw to open it up. Metal jacks and the red ball poured out and clattered to the floor. Bill stared down at the game, then up to me.

"Whas' this? Kinski's game? He would never let anyone 'ave his game. He was so damn attached to it!" he barked. With that, Bill chucked me across the room. I crashed into the hard wooden floor. I felt a sharp stabbing pain hit the side of my face. My wing came up to my face and lightly touched it. I looked down at my wing and saw blood.

I stayed crumpled up on the floor, too scared to look up at Bill. Bill cursed angrily. "You make me sick, you demon!" he spat. I turned my head to Bill, and slowly sat upright. "Why do you hate me?" I asked him. Bill narrowed his eyes. "You bloody know why I hate you! You joined my gang! You ruined my plans! but the thing that pisses me off the most is that you fell in love with hunchback boy! You cant do that!" Bill shouted. I stared up at Bill. "Th-there's no law against it. Why are you angry at me when he likes me back?" I asked. Bill bared his teeth. I continued, "Kinski is a sweet guy."

The Gila Monster growled. "You changed him," he said in a gruff, low voice. I blinked, instantly thinking of Chorizo. They hated me because I took Kinski from them, and that I changed him. Did I change him? I trembled as I got to my feet. "I didnt change him, that is how he was underneath all that drunken, arrogent nonsense. He was a shy, quiet guy, who was sensitive about his deformity, and was mistreated because of it. You guys just encouraged his uncontrollable rages and insanity...but I saw past that, and brought out his true self. His true person he was before he became the thing you guys knew...and you are angry at me for that? Just for liking him for who he is?"

Bill's expression didnt change. The silence was deafening. After the pause, I continued. "What puzzles me is that you are all riled up at us, when Blor had done the most damage to you." Bill glared at me, his claws tightened around the leather pouch, puncturing holes in it. I stared at the Gila Monster. "He b-betrayed you-" "He didnt betray me you freak!" he shouted. I flinched. "Th-then why do you sit here, hiding from his men, as he controls everyone in Dirt?" Bill growled, as if giving me a warning. I began to shake in fear.

"Wh-why dont you help us defeat Blor? You could be helping everyone...you could get back at Blor for what he did..."

Bill was quiet for a minute as he stared at me, then he spoke in a deep, low voice. "...I'll never side with you." With that, he uncurled his claw and threw the empty leather pouch at me. It landed at my feet. "Git out of 'ere, before I change my mind," he growled. I blinked. He was letting me go? Bill bared his teeth. "Are you deaf? I said go!" he barked. I jumped, then quickly grabbed the pouch and the game and ran past him and out the door.

I kept running, not looking back as I ran down the hallway, down a couple steps, turned right and kept running. I began to slow down when I found myself near a bathroom and stopped near it. I hesitated, then decided to go inside. I placed the leather bag next to the sink as I looked up at myself in the mirror. My face was red in my blood, and was beginning to swell up. I grabbed a small towel next to me and turned on the water to wet it and cleaned my face with it.

The cold damp towel stung my face as it soaked up the blood. My eyes were stinging as freash tears ran down my face. I had no idea how I was going to hide this from Kinski. I stopped and stared at myself in the mirror. No. I couldnt...I shouldnt hide it from him. We promised to tell eachother everything...I stared at the pink puffiness of my face. I didnt want him to find out what happened. He would get all upset.

Just as I wasthinking this, I heard footsteps. I gasped and turned to face the door. Instantly thinking that it was Bill, I hid behind the door. The footsteps stopped just outside the door. The figure walked into the room and went dtraight toward the jacks I forgot to grab from the sink. I sighed with relief when I found out that it was just Kinski. Kinski turned and found me hiding behind the door. "Banshee? Vhat-?" he stopped and his confused expression changed when he saw my face. He came up to me and cupped my face in his hands. "Vhat happened?!" he asked in shock.

I didnt say anything as he stared at me. He lightly ran his fingers over the gash, making me wince in pain. "Vhat happened Banshee? Tell me," he said. I hesitated. Kinski narrowed his eyes a bit. "Tell me, I need to know vhat happened," he said. I gave in. "I dont want you to get angry, but Bill-" "Bill? He did zis to you?!" Kinski screamed, letting go of my face.

"Yes, but-" "Zat stupid bastard!" Kinski shouted and left. I grabbed the leather pouch and game and shoved them into my pocket and bolted after Kinski. "Kinski! Wait!" I called after him. "Bill! Come out and show yer hideous face!" shouted Kinski as he ran down the stairs and to the main room. He looked up at all the levels of the rooms above him. Kinski pulled out his gun from his holster. "Bill!" he shouted angrily. I grabbed Kinski's arm.

"Kinski, no," I said. Kinski looked down at me. Anger was seen in his eyes. "Zat bastard is gonna git it!" he snarled at me. I shook my head. "No, Kinski. He's not worth it...I want to leave..." I said. Kinski stared down at me. Suddenly, we heard footsteps. Kinski went in front of me and aimed his gun. Stump and Chorizo appeared. Kinski lowered his gun. "Vhere are you two goin'?" he asked them.

Stump and Chorizo exchanged glances. "We agreed we'd all leave in the morning," said Stump. Kinski stared at them. "I didnt agree-" "What difference does it make, hunchback? Bill doesnt want us 'ere, so we're leaving, _si?"_ Chorizo asked firmly. Kinski sighed. "...Fine," he muttered. We all began to head toward the door. "I hope yer happy, you yellow coward!" yelled Kinski before he walked out the door. I looked back one last time inside the hotel. I saw Bill appear from a couple floors above me, looking down. Then, he disappeared. I sighed and walked out of the hotel.

"So, vhat now zen?" Kinski asked. I looked over to Stump and Chorizo. "Well, I think it's time to find ourselves an army," said Chorizo. Stump nodded. "If we plan on defeating Blor and his men, we need a lot of support. Kinski's head snapped up. "Ze prairie dogs, jes?" he offered. We all exchanged glances. Balthazar and the prairie dogs helped us before, hopefully they would still want to fight again. We all agreed to go over to the Prairie Dog Territory.

I went behind the building, changed out of my dress and grew ten times bigger then my normal size. I came back, looming over the men. Kinski took my dress out of my mouth and began climbing up my back and gripped my mane tightly. "Come on guys!" Kinski called down to Stump and Chorizo, motioning his hand. I stared down at Stump and Chorizo, who stared up at me with concern. Mostly Stump.

"We're gonna fly there?" asked Chorizo, looking up at me. Kinski narrowed his eyes a bit. "Jes. How else are ve going to git zere? Zere is no better transportation, jes?" he asked.

"uh...I'd rather walk," said Stump and began walking away from me. I rolled my eyes and used my wings to scoop him up and place them on my back. "No! Banshee-!" started Stump, but I ignored him. Kinski laughed maniacally. I looked down at Chorizo, who stared up at me. His eyes were narrowed, but he didnt seem angry at me. Silently he came around and climbed up my back. With that, I spread opened my wings, and flapped upward.

Stump's grip tightened as we flew through higher in the air. "Dont look down, dont look down, dont look down," he repeated to himself in a low voice. I flew till my head broke through the dark, low clouds and into a clear, endless blue sky. I flapped my wings harder and soared throught the beautiful sky.

Kinski whooped and laughed as we flew through the white clouds. He was having a blast. I turned my head over to Chorizo. His eyes were wide with awe. He smiled and laughed as he stared down below. He seemed like he had always wanted to fly. He gasped in awe below as we flew over the tops of the huge cacti and stared out at the tips of the purple mountains and the beautiful sunrise of the morning sun.

"For God's sake! can we please land?!" screamed Stump, breaking the silence. Kinski and Chorizo exchanged mischivous glances. "Why, Stump? the view is beautiful up here. Open yer eyes and look," teased Chorizo. Stump shook his head and buried his head in my mane. Kinski and Chorizo laughed. "Shut up!" Stump snapped. Kinski laughed and poked the short rabbit.

"Don't be like zat." he said. Stump didnt say anything as he nearly ripped my fur out from their roots. "Banshee, I want you to land now!" he commanded. I continued to fly. "Banshee..." Stump whimpered. Stump's body began to tremble in fear. Guilt caused me to gently swoop lower. We gradually descended down, flying a couple feet above land. I flapped my wings and landed.

Kinski nudged Stump. "Zere, zat better?" he asked. Stump slowly lifted his head and looked down. I could hear his heavy breathing and his heart pounding loudly. Stump jumped down and hugged the ground. Kinski and Chorizo jumped off as well and looked around. "Vell, at least ve dont have to valk zat far, jes?" Kinski said and pointed over in the distance. I turned my huge head and noticed the canyon where the Prairie dogs lived.


	35. Chapter 35: Bloodthirsty

It took an hour to walk to the entrance to the canyon. The morning sun burned our backs as we made our way over the hot rocks. Stump and Chorizo stopped dead in their tracks as we walked up to the ground level of the canyon.

"Uh...you guys go ahead, we'll stay here," said Stump. Chorizo nodded. Kinski and I exchanged glances before looking back at the two short gunslingers. "Vhas' vrong?" Kinski asked. Stump looked away and Chorizo began shifting his two ammo holders across his chest. I stared down at them, trying to read their expressions. They seemed nervous about going into the Prairie Dog Territory. I turned my huge head to the canyon. Sunlight poured down through the long passageway to the end where the prairie dogs lived.

I couldnt blame Stump and Chorizo for being nervous. The prairie dogs were notorious for their thirst for action and killing trespassers. Especially gunslingers. Kinski didnt have to worry since the prairie dogs knew he was a good guy. Stump and Chorizo would most likely be dead if they took another step.

With that, Kinski shrugged and climbed up onto my back. "Fine, ve'll be back," he said. With that, I spread open my enormous wings and took off down through the canyon. "I hope ze prairie dogs can help us, zat last var veally killed a lot of zem. Oh! and Kaliah! ve git to see Kaliah again, jes?" asked Kinski, leaning his head down over to me. My eyes widened. Kaliah! I havent seen her in a long time! I had almost forgotten about her. I missed her.

I flapped my wings harder, swerving around colossal, column like rocks and huge boulders. Kinski gripped my mane tightly but seemed to enjoy it. He laughed, then slowly lifted his arms up and let the rushing warm wind smack against him. His limp ears flapped past his face. I smiled as I saw him at the corner of my eye. It always made me happy to see him happy.

Finally, we got to the end of the canyon. A couple prairie dogs were out and some were taking off and riding their bats. I landed and lowered my head. Kinski jumped off. A couple prairie dogs turned their heads over to us and gasped in surprise. "Kinski! Banshee!" they cried at once. Instantly, the hill billy prairie dogs came up to us and nearly suffocated us in their stench. Kinski smiled a wide fake smile, holding back his screams as they slapped him roughly on his deformity. He looked like he was on the verge of exploding, but he was able to keep it under control.

"How hassit been?" asked one. "Wha's goin' on in Dirt?" asked another. Kinski held his hands up. The prairie dogs took a step back and waited for the huncback to reply. "Ve need to speak vith Balthazar...ve 'ave a problem back in Dirt," Kinski said. The prairie dogs all went silent. Something about hearing a problem in Dirt made them look very uneasy.

"H-he's inside...wh-where the bats stay..." said a prairie dog with a nick in his ear and a couple ammo holders strapped across his chest. Kinski looked up at the home where the prairie dogs lived. His legs began to shake a little, but he covered it up by walking forward to it.

I followed after him.

We walked through one of the entrances and was immediately engulfed into the darkness. I stopped when I realized that only my head could fit through and not the rest of my body. I screeched to Kinski, who stopped dead in his tracks and turned to me. "Vha's-? Oh," he said, realizing, then he looked down at his furry left hand which was holding my grey dress.

He smirked and tossed it to me. I caught it with my teeth and walked backwards out of the doorless entrance and went behind a huge section of the carved home and transformed back to my normal size and changed back into my grey dress. I jogged back over to the entrance and stopped next to Kinski who was still at the entrance that led into the darkness. His legs were shaking a bit again.

"Are you ok?" I asked him. Kinski flinched, but didnt say anything. His eyes were hidden behind his bangs, so it was hard for me to read his expression. He was afraid, but he didnt want to admit it. My eyes trailed down his arm and to his twitching furry hand near me. I reached up and held his wing. Kinski looked down. I smiled up at him. He smiled a small smile back. With that, we both entered into the dark entrance.

Our eyes adjusted to the darkness and made our way through the tunnels and down to where the bats lived. Around us, we could hear groans and sounds of whispering. The prairie dogs were still sleeping, or just starting to wake up around us. We walked past them.

The tunnels opened up and we found ourselves in a huge cave like room full of bats. Hundreds of bats were seen sleeping upside down on the ceiling with the stalagtites and the others were flying around or walking on all fours on the ground. Shafts of light poured in from the holes in the dim cave. Kinski and I squeezed past all the bats who were bigger than both of us combined and made our way through the cave, looking around for Balthazar.

A bunch of bats shouldered past us, causing us to break away. I tried reaching for him, but felt myself falling backwards. I bumped into something dark and furry and turned my head. "Oh, I'm s-" I stopped and looked up. It was a huge, scruffy black bat with visible scars all over his body. He glared down at me with dark red eyes and bared his fangs. I took a step back in fear. The dark male bat snarled a warning and loomed over me. I backed up. Just then I heard my name from behind the hulking bat.

_"Banshee!"_

I took my eyes off the male bat and slightly tilted my head to look behind him. I gasped in excitement. "Kaliah!" I screamed and took a step forward. The huge bat moved in front of me, blocking my path and growled. My eyes widened in horror, and took a step back. Kaliah appeared right next to the monsterous bat and gave him a playful shove.

_"Soltus, dont be so mean. This is Banshee, my friend,"_ she said. The huge bat, named Soltus, stared down at Kaliah, then silently nodded and backed down. I sighed with relief and came up to Kaliah. Kaliah and I hugged.

_"Its been so long! how are you?"_ she asked.

I opened my mouth, but then heard my name bahind me and turned my head. Kinski came staggering out from nearly being suffocated to death by all the bats shouldering their way past eachother to the other side. Kinski came up to me and sighed heavily, then noticed Kaliah.

"Hi...Kaliah..." he said between breaths and raised his hand up halfway, then back down and rested on his knee. Kaliah smiled to him, then gave me a smile and flickered her eyes from him to me. I blushed and looked away. Soltus glared down at Kinski, who looked up and took a step back. Suddenly, I heard little sounds behind him.

"_Attack!" _one little voice yelled.

Suddenly, two little dark colored bats swooped out from behind Soltus and came flying toward Kinski. Kinski turned, just as the two little bats came at him. "Aahh!" he screamed and fell backwards and collapsed on the ground with a loud thud. I took a step forward to help him, but then couldnt help but smile. Kinski tried swatting the little bats away as they climbed around him and tugged his droopy ears with their mouths.

_"I call eating his ear!"_ yelled one.

"Ow!" yelled Kinski as he grabbed the one biting his ear by the scruff of the neck and pulled it off him. The other attacked and licked his face. "Hey! ha! stop!" he cried out laughing, but then stopped when he felt a strange pain in his right hand and looked down. The other was now teething his hand. Soltus watched, and a small smirk formed on his face. Kaliah turned her head to the little bats attacking Kinski and frowned.

_"Kids! get off Kinski!" _she screeched.

The little bats stopped playfighting with Kinski and flew off him. Kinski sat there on the ground. He stuck his tongue out in disgust and wiped his saliva covered face with the back of his sleeve. I couldnt help but laugh, but then watched as the little bats flew over to Kaliah and landed next to her. My mouth dropped open in shock. "Y-you...have kids?" I asked her in disbelief. Kaliah smiled as Soltus' huge head came down next to hers and nudged against it.

_"Yes, they are our kids,"_ she answered with a smile. My eyes widened in surprise. I was amazed.

Kinski got up and stared at the bat family. He lowered his head down next to mine, "Zey are 'er kids, jes?" he asked me in a low voice. I nodded. Kinski nodded, then his eyes widened in surprise. "congrats," he said looking up at Kaliah with a small smile. Soltus frowned at Kinski, even though he didnt know what he said.

"We say congratulations. You have two wonderful kids," I said smiling politely and translating for the bats. Soltus stared at Kinski and I, then seemed to relax a bit, seeing that we werent a threat to his family, but still had his dark red eyes on us.

_"Thanks,"_ he said in a deep low voice.

Kinski and I watched as the two little bats began playing with eachother and biting each others ears. I realized that one was a boy, and the other was a girl. The boy had a scruffy look to him and looked a lot like his father, but had his mother's rich brown eyes, and the girl had a sleek dark grey almost black fur and looked like her mother, but had her father's hard red eyes. "What are their names?" I asked. Soltus and Kaliah exchanged glances before looking over at me. Kaliah shook her head.

_"We didnt give them names. We dont have to. That's what our masters do," _Kaliah answered.

"Oh," I said. I didnt realize that they didnt have to; whereas the more "evolved" animals, the ones who stand on all twos and wear clothes, we are losing that sense and instinct, so names become very important. I wonder if thats how my little clan was. My clan was beginning to evolve, so we became our own group, away from the other bats. The kids looked over at us and observed us with their huge brown and red eyes.

_"Yellow eyes,"_ said the girl in a small shy voice as she stared at me. The little boy bat nodded, then looked over at Kinski. The boy bat smiled.

_"Bunny,"_ said the boy grinning.

Kinski gave a blank expresion, obviously not understanding. The two bats stared up at Kinski with awe, it was almost as if they have never seen anything like him before, and yet knew what he was. The boy's tongue flicked out in a sort of bloodthirsty way. Kinski took a step back, and instinctively touched his gun in its holster.

Soltus didnt like that one bit and loomed over the hunchback jackrabbit. Kinski went low in fear as Soltus stood over him in a threatened way. I took a step forward and held my wing up to Soltus as I grabbed Kinski's gun.

"I-it's ok...it's o-ok" I said in a shaky voice as I moved the gun away and placed it over near a shiny glittering stalagmite that was as tall as me. Soltus stared at me with an unreadable face. Then he turned his head away and looked down at Kaliah, who was watching the kids play.

I walked over to Kaliah as Soltus walked away and laid down a good distance from us, but still had his red eyes on Kinski. Then, the two bats attacked Kinski again. Kinski jumped and tried running away, but got tackled down again. Kaliah and I couldnt help but laugh.

_"Ah, they both have their father's spirit,"_ said Kaliah. I looked over at Soltus. Their father's spirit? So he was a fighter, a warrior. I would hate to see him very angry. I gulped nervously at the thought and looked back at the two bats. Kinski gradually loosened up around the kids and began to laugh as he played with the kids. I smiled and watched him. Kaliah looked over at me with a smile on her face.

_"So, I see you two finally got together,"_ she said.

I blushed and looked away. "Oh, yeah..." I said. Kaliah continued to smile._ "Are you guys mates yet?"_ she asked. I felt my heart skip a beat as I watched Kinski try to chase the kids as they flew around him. "wh-what?" I asked. Kaliah stared at me then laughed. _"Oh, sorry. I mean, have you two thought of that marriage thing?"_ she asked.

"uh...no...no we havent..." I said. Kaliah's smile disappeared. _"Why not?"_ she asked. I sighed and shrugged. "I dont know...I dont think...I dont know how Kinski would feel about it..." I said as I watched the girl land on Kinski's shoulders and wrapped her wings around his neck. She stared down at his deformity.

_"What's this?"_ she asked her brother. The brother just shrugged as he flew out of the way from Kinski's grasp. They seemed to like Kinski a lot for a strange reason. They didnt see him as a threat, just something to play with. Kinski seemed to enjoy playing with them as well.

Kaliah smiled again and nudged me.

_"I'm sure he wants to ask ya, but he's just too nervous you'll say no. Soltus didnt ask me to be his mate until the ninth full_ _moon_," she said as she gazed over at Soltus dreamily. _"He's such a big softie once you get to know him." _

I found that hard to believe, but I just nodded my head.

I watched Kaliah and Soltus' kids jump on Kinski from behind, causing him to fall to the ground. He landed on his stomach and laughed. "Ok! zat's it!" he said playfully as he got up and grabbed for the kids. The kids screeched and laughed as they flew away.

Suddenly, I had almost forgotten why we were here in the first place. "Kaliah, where's your master? We need to speak with him," I said. Kaliah looked at me._ "Why? What's wrong?" _she asked. I gave her a short summary about Brim and Luminite coming to the town to help us, and Blor taking over the town. Kaliah's eyes widened in horror. Soltus looked over at us with concern. His red eyes stared at Kaliah, then he got up.

_"What's wrong, Kal?"_ he asked in a deep low murmur.

Kaliah looked up at Soltus, then over to me. _"He's over here,"_ she said and began to walk on all fours toward the direction where Balthazar was. Kinski and the two kids stopped playing and looked over at us. Kinski got to his feet. The kids held on to him and sat on his shoulders as he came up to me.

"Vha's vrong?" he asked. I began walking, "Kaliah is showing us where Balthazar is," I said. Kinski began to follow me, but then stopped when he realized that the kids were still on him. He reached up and tried pulling them off but they wouldnt let go. Soltus noticed this and glared at the kids. Instantly, the kids flew off Kinski and disappeared behind Soltus.

We began making our way through the tightly packed section where all the bats seemed to be huddled close to in the dim cave. It became harder and harder to keep up with Kaliah, seeing that she was used to pushing and shoving her way past the compacted bat groups, whereas me and Kinski were smaller in size and had to keep from falling over and being trampled over.

Kinski started to move farther and farther away from me, then all I could see were huge bat heads in front of me. Suddenly, right when I was going to call his name out, I felt something wet on the back of my neck. I turned around and found myself face to face with a tall, pale brown colored male bat with one brown eye and one ice blue eye. His hair was matted, but I could see a bit of mustle tone in his wings, which had quiltwork patches scattered all over the leather surface. He had a rugged look and wirey hair around his head. He gave me a toothy grin and lowered his head down to mine.

_"Well! I've never seen a pretty thin' like you around! Where have ya been hidin?"_ he asked, chuckling softly.

He lifted his wing and wrapped it around me, pulling me closer to him. I lifted my wings up against my chest and pushed away from him. "I'm sorry, I'm in a hurry to talk to someone," I said and started to walk around him. The male bat smirked as he moved in front of me, blocking my path.

_"A hurry? What's the hurry? I'm right here," _he said, smirking.

I narrowed my eyes a bit. He was really getting on my nerves. "Please move, I need to go-" I said and soved him roughly, but it didnt really help. "_Oh! A feisty one! I like it" _he said laughing as he moved closer to me. Just then, a couple bats came up next to the male bat.

"Hey, Cy, leave her alone," said a bat behind him. The bat named Cy didnt seem to hear them as he continued to pester me. He grabbed me, keeping me from moving. _"You have freaky eyes... very creepy. You some sort of freakish hybrid bat or somethin?"_ he asked as his head came closer to mine. I wanted to scream, but Cy's grip tightened down on my respiration system, making it hard to breathe. "Stop it! leave me alone!" I shouted. Other bats began to form around us and watched me and Cy fight.

Cy laughed and grabbed my hair and forced my eyes to look up at him. He ran his long pink tongue along the front of my face. I flinched in disgust and turned my head away, but Cy wouldnt stop. _"Cy! stop-!"_ yelled the same bat as before._ "You better shut the hell up, Crash! I aint gonna stop till I git my mate!" _he shouted to the bat named Crash. The bats took a couple steps back in fear. My eyes widened in horror as Cy turned his head to me with an evil smirk on his face.

Suddenly a shout was heard and a rock smacked Cy from the side of his head. Cy screeched in pain and turned. Kinski stood ten feet from us in the open circle where the bats stayed a good distance from us. Kinski's bangs were in front of his face. His mouth was curled into a sneer and his hands were balled up tightly at his sides.

"Git yer filthy vings off my girl you shit eater!" Kinski shouted. Cy stared at Kinski as if he just appeared from thin air. Cy growled and flicked his ears back. He gave Kinski a warning look before turning his back and began to pull me away. Kinski picked up another rock and chucked it at Cy's head again. "Hey!" he yelled again. Cy screeched in pain and turned his head back to the hunchback. This time, Cy was really ticked off. Cy chucked me aside and turned to fully face Kinski.

_"Stupid deranged rabbit!" _Cy screeched. Kinski mimicked the screech back to Cy. The bats on the outer part of the circle began to screech and shout as the two circled eachother in the open circle. Kaliah helped me up and kept me from going to Kinski.

_"You cant go out there, he has just accepted the challenge,"_ said Kaliah. I looked up at her with worry. "Ch-challenge? Wh-what challenge?" I asked. Kaliah gave me a look of sadness.

_"The two must fight to the death. The one who wins, is the one who gets to have you as their mate,"_ she explained. I gasped and instantly felt sick as I turned back to the two growling males. Cy was ten times bigger then Kinski! It was unfair! The two continued to move around the edges of the ring. Then, Cy came forward at lightning speed toward Kinski. Kinski bared his teeth and instinctively reached down for his gun. Kinski's eyes widened and he looked down at his holster. It was empty.

I gasped. I took it and placed it near the stalagmite when Soltus saw him reach for it! Kinski looked back up, just as Cy rammed into him, causing him to fall backwards and skidded along the hardpacked ground. A couple bats screeched and shouted things as they watched the blood thirsty battle. Kinski groaned as he laid there on the ground. Blood oozed out of his twitching pink nose. A couple bats in the crowd near him helped him up and brushed the dirt off his pants before pushing him back into the ring.

Kinski staggered, still a bit shaken from the rough impact Cy gave him. Cy laughed and charged toward Kinski again. This time, Kinski dodged out of the way in time and rolled to the other side of the ring. Cy crashed into a couple bats on the other side.

My eyes looked over to the stalagmite that was sticking up just a couple feet outside of the ring. Somewhere near it was his gun. "Kinski! your gun!" I screamed and pointed to the stalagmite across from me. Kinski looked at me, then at the stalagmite. Cy got up and charged toward Kinski again. Kinski sprinted toward Cy. He ducked just in time and kept running toward the slalagmite.

"Git! move!" he shouted angrily as he tried to make his way through the tall bats to the stalagmite. He bent down when he spotted his gun and reached for it. Suddenly, Kinski felt something tug at the back of his collar roughly and was pulled backwards. "No!" he screamed as his fingers barely touched the barrel of his gun and was flung into the air by Cy. Kinski screamed and was sent flying backwards. I gasped in horror.

Cy smirked as he walked back into the ring and caught Kinski by the collar with his teeth and tossed him down. Kinski rolled to a stop and laid there on his stomach. He groaned and held his head to stop the world from spinning. Cy laughed at Kinski and nudged him with his huge nose. Kinski slashed his arm out, which scratched Cy's nose, drawing blood.

The male bat screeched and recoiled from Kinski. The rabbit slowly looked up. Anger filled his eyes. Cy glared at Kinski and screeched. Kinski mimicked the screech back in a taunting way. Cy growled and charged toward Kinski. Kinski quickly got up and moved out of the way, but not fast enough. Kinski felt Cy's sharp teeth clamp down on his arm. The hunchback screamed in pain.

"No!" I screamed and began to move foreward, but Kaliah prevented me from doing so. _"I'm sorry, Banshee. This is their fight. You cant do anything. They want you, only one can-"_ "No! that's not fair! Kinski is already my boyfriend!" I shouted. Cy loosened his teeth from Kinski's arm and looked up at me in slight surprise.

Just as he did, Kinski balled up his free hand and socked Cy right in the face. Cy screeched, letting go of Kinski's arm. Kinski flicked his bleeding arm out of Cy's mouth and jumped backwards away from the huge bat. Cy shook his head and rubbed his face with the back of his wing before turning his head to me.

"_That deformed prick is yer mate?" _he asked me from where he stood.

The shouts and cheers began to lower. I narrowed my eyes and nodded. "Yes! so stop the fight now and leave him alone!" I shouted. Cy laughed as Kinski's blood dribbled down his mouth.

_"Fat chance my little Yellow Eyes. Yer mine."_

Kinski roared a battle cry and charged toward Cy as he held his bleeding arm. Cy smirked and simply turned his pale colored head toward the running rabbit and flicked his wing up, smacking Kinski. Kinski screamed and fell backwards. Blood sprayed everywhere, making the other bats screech and flap their wings; enjoying the battle. Kinski landed on his deformity and screamed and twisted on the ground in pain. Cy's ears perked up and he grinned.

_"Oh, a weak spot."_

"No!" I screamed and began to take a step toward them, but a bunch of bats grabbed me and kept me from going into the circle.

_"Don't! You'll just end up hurting yerself and the rabbit,"_ said a bat with a scar that ran across his left eye. I felt tears coming down my face as I turned my head back to the two. Cy was looking at me with a stupid grin on his face; then he turned back to Kinski.

_"We'll be makin' love on yer corpse when I'm through wit' ya,"_ Cy laughed. Kinski stared up at Cy as blood gushed out of his mouth. He didnt understand a lick of what Cy just said, but he didnt have to know. He had been in plenty of fights to know what kind of crap talk Cy was telling him. Kinski looked over to me and saw my face, dripping with tears. Then he looked back at Cy and narrowed his eyes.

With that, he spat a good mouthful of his own blood at Cy's face. Cy shrieked and lifted his head up, lifting the weight from Kinski. Kinski got up and gasped for air. Cy fell backwards and landed on his back. Kinski saw the opportunity and attacked Cy.

Just as Cy fell on his back, he quickly placed his massive wings up to protect himself from Kinski's teeth and sharp nails that thrashed violently in front of him. Kinski screamed and bared his teeth as he fought Cy. Gasps and screeches of fear were heard throughout the thousands of bats as they watched Kinski tear into Cy's flesh.

Cy's wings were instantly shredded from Kinski's sharp nails and Cy's muscles in his wings were instantly teared and went limp at his sides. Kinski sat on Cy's bleeding chest, laughing like a maniac. Cy was pinned on his back, screaming for help and thrashing his head side to side. None of the bats helped Cy. Most of them flew away in fear of Kinski.

Kalah and I gasped in horror at the sight of Kinski. He had cracked.

_"I'm gonna go git my master right now!"_ said Kaliah as she flapped her wings and flew away. A couple bats tried to come up to help Cy, but Kinski roared and thrashed his clawed hands that were covered in Cy's blood at them; making them run away in fear.

Cy kept thrashing, which irritated the hunchback. He saw it as a game and watched Cy's head shake before making his move. At lightning speed, Kinski's head shot toward Cy's and bit down hard onto Cy's right ear. He whipped his head back up in a heartbeat, and ripped the ear clean off. Cy screamed in agony and flapped his destroyed wings wildly before letting them flop back down.

Kinski shook his head with the ear in his mouth, spraying blood on the crowd of bats. He laughed hysterically and pulled it out of his mouth. He stuck it on the side of his head as if it was his own ear and grinned down at the screaming male bat. I felt myself frozen to the spot in horror at the sight.

"Haha! Vhat? Vhat did ya say?" he teased over Cy's constant screeching. Kinski laughed as he flicked the ear in front of Cys face before chucking the juicy fleshy ear at Cy. Cy stopped screaming and stared down at his bleeding, detached ear on his blood caked chest in horror. Blood gushed out of the dark hole on the side of his head.

Kinski grinned a wide, psychotic grin at Cy's terrified face and brought forth a spine chilling cold laugh. His eyes were wide with insanity behind his matted bangs. "Zat is vhat ya git fer tryin' ta take my girl," he said. Cy trembled and whimpered. Blood dribbled down Kinski's mouth. His tongue flicked out and licked it up. "Yer blood taste good..." he said, grinning, blood seeped out through his rotting teeth. Cy's eyes were big.

"Kinski!" I screamed and found myself moving forward to the psychotic rabbit. Kinski instantly stopped when he heard his name and turned his head to me. Before I could say anything, a group of prairie dogs were already coming to the scene. "What the hell is goin' on 'ere?!" asked Balthazar as he blindly was led by Kaliah. Balthazar stopped and sniffed the air. "Blood! I smell blood! what happened here?! Someone tell me!" he yelled and slammed the end of his walking stick down on the hard packed ground.

No one spoke.

Just then, a priaire dog made his way through the crowd and gasped.

"Cykis!" screamed the prairie dog as he came running to the wounded bat drenched in blood. "Cykis? What happened? Why is he bleeding?" asked Balthazar. The prairie dog who owned Cy didnt say anything as he fell to his knees next to Cy. Cy screeched a weak, pathetic screech as he lifted his head to his master. The prairie dog lifted his bat's head up to him. He gasped at the sight of the huge gap where Cy's ear once was. Blood bubbled out from the black hole and dribbled onto the prairie dogs hands "W-who-?" started the prairie dog, but then stopped when he spotted Kinski.

Everyone stared at the bloody rabbit in horror. Kinski stared back. The insanity in his eyes seemed to gradually lift away as they slowly flickered down to Cy. He gasped and stared at the bat. Kinski jumped off and slowly backed away from the bleeding bat. He expression seemed to slowly change as he stared at Cy in horror. His breathing quickened. "Vh-vhat...?" he breathed out in horror, then he looked down at himself. Blood was all over his body. Cy's blood. Kinski gasped loudly and began to panic.

Kinski looked back up at the horrified priairie dogs and remaining bats. Then he turned his head to me. His eyes were wide in fear and shock, as if he had no idea what occured and now was just waking up. "I...I..." he started, but continued to falter. Balthazar had his head toward Kinski's direction. He seemed outraged. "Kinski, what the hell were you thinking?! Why did you attack Cykis?!" he screamed. Kinski turned to Balthazar. "I...I didnt k-kn-" he started. "It's not his fault!" I stepped in. "Cy was wanting me to be his mate, but-" "Enough. Why are you two here?" Balthazar asked harshly. There was a dead silence in the air before I spoke again.

"W-we came for y-your help. B-Blor the demon h-has taken over our t-town and w-we need-" "Me an' my family aint helpin' ya," snapped Balthazar. Kinski and I gasped. Balthazar growled. "After what Hunchback boy just did...I dont want you two around 'ere any more...I'm sorry; but you just crossed the line! That boy almost killed a bat! I dont want him around, knowing that he might hurt another one." "Kinski and I gasped in shock. "N-no-" started Kinski.

Balthazar interrupted him as he turned his head toward me. "Ya shouldve known he would do somethin' like this. That boy is psychotic. What the hell were ya thinkin' of bringin' 'im 'ere?!" he shouted at me. "Ya should've kept him locked up bef're lettin him hurt one of our bats-" "It wasnt his fault! Cy tried to-" "Silence!" yelled Balthazar. The whole place went quiet.

Balthazar turned to Kinski's direction and pointed his walking stick to him. "You are banned from this place! I dont _ever _want to hear you around here ever again!" he yelled. Kinski's eyes widened as he stood there, shaking like a leaf, covered in bat blood. Then Balthazar pointed his walking stick over to me. "I want you two out of my home now," he commanded. "B-but-" I started. "Leave!" yelled Balthazar. I turned my head over to Kaliah. Kaliah stared back at me with wide eyes.

Kinski and I were banned from the Prairie Dog Territory...

...

We walked out of the carved out home of the prairie dogs and out into the blinding sunlight. Kinski had his head down low. The blood was dark and dry on his clothes and hair. He was quiet as we walked.

Tears ran down my face in frustration as I fast walked ahead of Kinski. Leaving the territory on foot. _Why did this have to happen...? Why did Kinski have to lose it and go crazy? _A voice asked in my head. _Because he cares about you. He was protecting you from Cy_, said another voice in my head. More salty tears ran down my face and I quickly wiped them away with the back of my sleeve.

Now we were without an army. Blor had won. He was going to win-

Just then I felt that something was wrong and turned around. Kinski had stopped. I took a deep breath and sighed as I came walking back to where he stood. "Kinski? Are you ok?" I asked him softly. Kinski still had his head down. Then he slowly wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my shoulder. "I'm sorry..." he said in a low voice. He felt horrible for what he did. He shook as I wrapped my wings around him.

"It's ok...it's ok..." I said, smoothing his hair. Kinski continued to shake. "I...I didnt...mean to...I...just got...angry...and...ze bat...ze bat vas...taking you..." he continued saying. It wasnt his fault for what he did. Kinski had every right to keep Cy away from me...but Kinski broke the rules. He shouldnt have gone too far and now here we are. Banned from being in or even near the territory.

"I...I'm sorry...is all my fault..." he whimpered. I hugged him tighter. "No. Dont say that," I said. Kinski moved his head from me and looked down at my face. "But it is. Ve dont 'ave an army. Balthazar hates me now fer vhat I did...Is all my fault!" he said, raising his voice as he stared at me from behind his bangs. His eyes were wide and full of guilt. "Now everyvone is gonna die...all because of me..." Kinski said as his voice went low and he collapsed to the ground. He buried his face in his arms as he sat there.

I fought back the tears in my eyes and knelt down next to Kinski. Kinski didnt look up at me when I touched his shoulder. "Kinski..." I started. Kinski didnt move. I wrapped my wings around him as we sat there under the baking hot sun. "These things happen...We'll figure out another way..." I said and rested my head against his.

Kinski and I sat there in silence for a couple minutes. Just then, we heard strange flapping sounds. Our heads lifted up and we turned to look behind us. Around thirty or so bats came flying out from the prairie dog home and toward us. The one leading the group was Soltus. The group landed in front of us. Kinski and I got up and stared at them in confusion. Were they here to hurt Kinski? I tightend my wings around Kinski's waist. Soltus took a step forward.

_"I was amazed to see Hunchback do something so brutal like that, especially to Cy," _Soltus said in his deep, low voice. My eyes widened in surprise. Soltus was amazed by Kinski's action? Kinski lowered his head. "Vhat did he say?" he asked. I whispered what Soltus said to me. Kinski's eyes widened and he looked up at Soltus. Soltus stared down at Kinski and nodded his head before turneing his huge head to me.

_"Me and my group never liked Cykis,"_ he answered. A bat with white eyes came up next to Soltus and grinned, revealing a row of sharp jagged teeth. _"Yeah, I was so glad to see Cy get what he deserved!"_ the bat laughed. A couple other bats nodded and said a couple other things at once. Soltus flicked his right ear, instantly, all the bats behind him went silent.

_"We heard that you need help back in your town, so we decided to help you,"_ answered Soltus. I couldnt help but smile. We had an army. Kinski stared at Soltus, then at me blankly. "Vhat did he say?" he asked again. I turned to Kinski excitedly. "They want to help us!" I said hugging him tightly. Kinski's eyes widened. "Z-zey do?" he asked. I nodded. "They loved how you took care of Cy and want to help us!" I said. Kinski broke into a smile, realizing what was going on and hugged me back.

Just then, Kaliah and the two kids appeared. _"Soltus! What are you doing?!_" Kaliah screeched as she came up to her mate. the two kids flew around their mom before going over to us and landing on our shoulders.

_"Did Bunny really kill Cy?"_ asked the girl bat as she stared down at Kinski's face. I shook my head. "No, he almost did." I looked back up to where Kaliah and Soltus were. Kaliah looked concerned for her mate. I knew what they were talking about. Kaliah was worried for Soltus to be leaving her and the kids to go out and fight. Soltus wrapped his wings around her and gave her a passionate lick on her cheek. Kaliah hugged him back.

_"Just...promise me you'll come back in one piece,"_ she said. Soltus smiled, which really surprised me. He looked like he never smiled. _"Dont worry. I will."_

With that, they moved away from each other. She came up to us and hugged me, then Kinski. _"Be careful"_ she told me. I nodded. Kaliah smiled a sad smile as tears welled up in her eyes. Then she turned to her kids on our heads. _"Come on, kids,"_ said Kaliah. The boy and girl bats groaned. _"We wanna help daddy fight,"_ said the boy bat. Kalaih's eyes welled up with tears, but she shook her head. _"No...not till yer older,"_ she said with a small smile on her face, but I knew she was just saying that. The kids turned to us.

_"You going in the war with daddy?"_ the girl asked. I nodded. The bats looked over to Kinski. _"Can he stay here?"_ they asked in usion. I smiled a sad smile and looked over to Kinski. "...I wish I could say yes," I said. Kinski looked at me. "Huh?" he asked. I stared int o his hazel eyes. "You think you could stay out of this war?" I asked him. Kinski gave me a look. Obviously that was a no.

I looked at the kids and shook my head. The little bats gave us sad looks with their huge eyes before taking off. Kaliah followed after them back to Soltus. The kids hugged their dad. _"Bring back a skull for me,"_ said the girl. Soltus smiled and hugged Kaliah one last time.

With that, Kalaih and the kids took off back to home. I noticed the look of sadness in Soltus' red eyes. "You could just stay," I said, looking up at Soltus as he watched his family fly away. Soltus looked down at me, then shook his head. _"No, I want to fight in this war. I haven't fought in a war in so long." _Then he turned back over to the prairie dog home. _"And I want to keep my family safe from this Blor if he ever decides to come here to take control..."_

Soltus turned his head to the group behind him and lifted his wings. The group copied. Kinski and I watched with huge smiles on out faces as the bats took off and flew over our heads down through the canyon. I transformed into The Nightmare. Kinski jumped on and we took off after them.

...

Stump and Chorizo gasped in shock as a swarm of bats flew over their heads. They turned their heads and saw us land right in front of them. Kinski waved to them. "Ve got our army!" he said excitedlyand laughed. He seemed to have instantly forgotten that he was upset. Stump and Chorizo exchanged nervous glances after seeing Kinski covered in blood; trying to not imagine what he might have had to do in order to get the army...hoping it wasnt as bad as it looked.

"Bats?" asked Chorizo as he pointed to the bats flying over us. I nodded. Kinski nodded and well and began to snicker as he waved for the short gunslingers to climb on up. "Jes! now le's go an' kick some ass!" he said excitedly.

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**Ok! I'm back! sorry about the long wait. I was busy with school :(** **Hope you enjoyed the chapter :) sorry about the bloody gory scene...but, compared to Adelilah's chapter 50 in Snakes With Guns, Kinski attacking Cy is NOTHING! **

**Dont read Chapter 50 of Snake with Guns! It's scary! I had to watch over 30 youtube kitten videos in attempt to forget all that I have read! Though, it was a damn good chapter! :)**

**Anyway, so hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will be up possibly next Friday or Saturday, depends on school :P Have a nice day! **


	36. Chapter 36: Confidence

**Sorry for the late chapter guys. I had a lot of things going on and didnt really have alot of time to write this chapter. Well l, hope you enjoy and the next chapter will be up soon! :)**

* * *

**...**

It was night when we landed near the remains of The Abandoned Mines. The debris was still damp from the rains. Above, the dark clouds seemed to open up and revealed bits of the dark, royal blue sky; decorated in billions of tiny, silver stars.

Dirt was seen in the distance, lit up by torches. The fire flickered in the cold night winds. Stump, Chorizo, and Kinski jumped off my back and gazed out toward the town. The bats from the Prairie Dog territory flapped their wings and stopped around us to take a rest.

They sniffed the air and stared at Dirt. Their ears were sharp and alert as they listened. _"So, how did this happen?"_ asked a dark brown colored bat behind me with three scars running across his left eye. I recognized him, he was one of the bats who tried to stop Cy. I think his name was Crash.

"Blor. He took over our town..." I answered. Crash nodded and stared at me with his dark brown eyes. "_I'm sorry." _He flinched when Kinski walked between us and came over to sit down below me. Crash stared down at the little rabbit with bloodstains all over his clothes. Crash seemed to be shaking a bit.

I looked down at Kinski, who didnt pay attention to us at all as he silently looked out at the lit up town under the main core of the swirling clouds. He was deep in his own thoughts as the wind rustled his tough course blood caked hair and his droopy ears rustled. I lowered myself down and rested next to Kinski. Kinski looked up at me and leaned his head against mine. I could hear his heart thumping loudly in his little chest. The smell of the blood was horrible, and the grotesque scene kept repeating in my head, even when I closed my eyes.

Just then, Stump and Chorizo came up and stopped in front of us. "What do we do now?" asked Stump, waiting for Kinski to answer. Kinski blinked and slowly sat upright. "Huh?" he asked. Stump repeated the question. Kinski shrugged. "How should I know?" he asked. Stump and Chorizo gave him surprised looks. "I hope that you would know since you becam leader of this army!" Stump growled as he raised his voice.

Kinski's eyes widened. "Vhat?! Vhen did I...?" his sentence faded as his eyes flickered over to the bats and saw them looking at him. He got up and stared back at them. The bats all seemed to take a step back but continued to stare down at him. They were waiting for his next command. Kinski looked up at me with confusion and concern in his eyes.

I stared back at him, slowly realizing what was going on. The bats came because of Kinski. When they saw Kinski fight Cy, they knew he was a powerful one. They loved Kinski's fighting spirit and how he would fight for his town back... but they were also afraid of him. He became a leader to the bats it seemed. A fearful leader.

"We arent much of an army," muttered Chorizo as he crossed his arms and looked away.

_"What did he say?"_ asked Crash, staring down at Chorizo. I narrowed my eyes a bit at Chorizo for saying that, but I told him. "He says that there's not alot of us."

"_We are small in number, but we are fighters,"_ answered Soltus.

Crash and I turned our heads and watched as Soltus passed by us. Gradually, the bats separated and went off their own ways. Kinski just stood there nervously; staring down at the ground. Silently, I got up and went behind the old stables near the destroyed Abandoned mines to transform back and change.

...

When I came back out, I saw Kinski sitting away from the group of bats. He had his arms wrapped around his knees. I came up to him and sat down. "Are you ok? " I asked him. Kinski turned his head to me.

"I...dont know..." he said. He sounded nervous about becoming the leader. I touched the top of his head. "It's ok, you'll be a great leader to the bats" I assured him. Kinski didnt say anything. He looked away for a minute and sighed. "I...I dont know...vhat if I screw up?" he asked me. I shook my head. "You wont." Kinski smiled a small smile, but then it faded away.

"Zanks..." he said. I stared at him. Something else was wrong. Kinski noticed me staring at him and sighed. "...Banshee...I need to tell you somezing..." he said, grabbing my wing. "What's wrong?" I asked him. Kinski hesitated, but stopped when his eyes went wide as they trailed up to Soltus, who appeared in front of us. We both got up and stood before the huge warrior bat.

Kinski stared up at Soltus nervously. Soltus stared down at Kinski with an unreadable expression on his dark face. _"If you plan on fighting, now would be the perfect time to attack,"_ Soltus said. Kinski stared at Soltus blankly before turning to me. "He says if you plan on fighting, now is the time to attack," I translated. Kinski stared at me in surprise, then up to Soltus.

Soltus' expression didnt change. Kinski stared up at the huge bat. Kinski tried reading Soltus' expression. It was hard, but he could sense something in Soltus' dark red eyes. Soltus had his faith in him. He knew when he saw Kinski fight, he was more then what he thought he was. He was something that had the strength to fight for his town, and the strength to fight for his love. Kinski had something Soltus liked to see in a leader. Confidence.

Gradually, Kinski's expression changed and he straightened himself up a bit in a more confident state. He narrowed his eyes a bit and nodded. "Gather ze army," he said. I blinked in surprise. I have never seen him like this...I felt goosebumps run up and down my arms. I translated to Soltus. Soltus stared down at Kinski's face and smirked. He nodded. With that, we both turned around and informed the army.

The bats, Stump and Chorizo came up to us and watched as Kinski came up and stood in the middle of the half circle. " I 'ave a plan," he announced. He turned his head over to me. "You can translate to ze bats my plan after I'm done," he said. I felt myself smiling. I nodded. Kinski smirked, then turned to Stump and Chorizo and told him the plan. When he was done, I translated to the bats, and we were ready for war.

...

_Below Dirt..._

_Blor yawned with boredom as he watched the townspeople briskly walked past him in fear as they carried huge, heavy pieces of the special metal over to where a bunch of male citizens were hammering and forging the metal down into weapons. The metal seemed to glow a silvery blue, then a deep red as it was pulled out of the fires. Blor watched as the sword shaped weapons were placd back into the barrels full of water. A hissing sound was heard, followed by steam. _

_Blor lifted his head up and smirked as he turned his head and watched as a couple girls came around with finished weapons and placed them down before him. Blor grinned as he picked one finished weapon up and examined it closely. _

_The weapons were beautiful and full of energy. The blade was like a dark silver with a black handle. He smirked as he turned the blade; examining it at every angle. Now he had weapons. He handed the weapon over to a uniformed soldier standing next to him. "Try it out, see how powerful the blade is," he said . The soldier stared down at the weapon. He looked up at his master and nodded. With that, he turned to a huge boulder next to him and struck it. _

_The blade went right through the boulder as if it were made of butter and cut the huge rock neatly in half. The top half of the boulder crashed in front of Blor and the soldier. The shackled citizens stopped and gapped at the rock that was sliced in half in seconds. They w ere creating powerful weapons of destruction! _

_Blor noticed them gawking at the weapon in the soldier's hands and grinned evilly. "Impresssssive, issssn't it? A powerful metal, found within the crusssst of thisss pathetic, mortal planet; and created into a beautiful weapon, ssstrong enough to go through anything." _

_The citizens, caked in soot and dirt, shook in fear. The chains rattled around their skinny, frail bodies. Not being able to eat much in weeks, and all their hope is lost. Blor picked up a couple more weapons and handed them out to the other soldiers who were there too. The soldiers grinned with pleasure as they held the powerful weapons in their hands. _

_"Yesss, it sssurprisesss me too how sssomething ssso majestic and sso beatutiful, isss found in the filthiest place in the galaxy...oh well, it doessn't matter now...I have found it...Symitium. The most powerful metal. Powerful enough to harm an Immortal...ssspeaking of which," Blor said as he turned his head . Just as he did, three soldiers appeared from the darkness. _

_They grunted and cursed angrily as they pulled the chained up creature forward. Brim tried flapping her huge white wings, but they were shackled down to her sides. Her arms were bound in front of her, and her legs were shackled so she could only separate them a foot apart, making walking a lot harder. She fought and tried shaking the soldiers' hands off her shoulders, but they wouldn't let go. They shoved her down to the ground. Blor grinned down at the female white rabbit. _

_"Hello, Brim. We meet again," he said in an amused tone. _

_Brim stared up at the huge snake as she sat there on her hands and knees. Shaking. Her ears went back and her bright blue eyes were now a pale blue; wide with fear. She shook as Blor lowered his head down to hers. "What is wrong, little Brim...you ssseem ssscared," he noticed with a grin on his face. Brim didnt answer as she stared into the cold yellow, black slitted eyes of the demon with the snake body. _

_Within the eyes, she could see all the innocent mortal souls that he had killed in the past. Within the faces of the souls, she saw her old lover, Neo. Tears began to appear in her eyes and she looked away. Suddenly, Brim felt the ice cold gatling gun touch underneath her chin and turned her head back up to Blor. Forcing her to look back at him. _

_"You sssee them, Brim? My collection of souls?" Blor laughed softly. "They were weak...they were pathetic...essspecially that Neo...oh...poor, poor Neo-" "Stop it!" yelled Brim as she closed her eyes shut and tried turning her head away. Blor laughed a little louder and lowered the gatling gun from her. Hot tears poured down her face. Brim felt the gatling gun lightly brush her platinum blonde bangs out of her tightly closed eyes. _

_"You knew it wasss wrong to be with that mortal...sso...he died assssany mortal would die...weak...which isss what isss gonna happen to you when I'm through with you," said Blor as he picked up one of the weapons and slowly lifted it up to Brim's throat. _

_Suddenly, a soldier came running up to Blor. His clothes were shredded and half his face was burned. "B-Boss! w-we're being under attack!" yelled the soldier. Blor lowered the blade from Brim's throat. Brim opened her wet eyes._

_"What?" asked Blor angrily. The soldier trembled where he stood. "A wh-whole bunch of b-bats! and couple others-" "What othersss?!" commanded Blor as he slithered up to the soldier. All the citizens flinched in fear, but listened intently to what the soldier was saying. __"Th-that h-hunchback! a-nd that b-at girl," he said. _

_Blor bared his teeth._ Anera, _he thought bitterly. _

_Everyone's hearts skipped a beat from the information. They were alive! Banshee and Kinski were alive! And they were coming to save them! The citizens forgot about their fears and cheered and yelled happily. Blor hissed angrily at them, instantly shutting them up. Blor growled, his yellow eyes had changed to a deep red . "Ssso...Anera wantsss to ssstart a war..." he snarled angrily. With that, he turned to the soldiers. "Keep the slaves down here!" he ordered . Then he turned to Brim and the three soldiers who held her. "You three! bring the prisoner along!" he commanded._

_With that, they all went up in the elevator and up to the surface. Blor tapped his gatling gun impatiently against the ground. Just as the elevator got to the surface, they all ducked as a flaming wagon came right at them and crashed behind them. The flames instantly began to spread. Blor, the soldiers, and Brim looked out on Main street. _

_Everywhere they looked, something was happening: Bats flew overhead and dropped huge rocks onto groups of soldiers. Flames flickered and grew on every building in the town. Bullets were fired, explosions were going off in the sky and on the ground. Blood was spilt and bodies were already starting to pile up. Blor's eyes finally found the creature he was looking for: Banshee. _

_She transformed into the Nightmare and screamed at a group of soldiers who began firing at her. Kinski stood at her side with a rifle he found in one of the buildings and began shooting at soldiers who began coming close to him. Of course, it only slowed the soldiers down, they were immortal now; bullets couldnt stop them. _

_"Wh-what are yer orders n-now, boss?" asked one of the soldiers to Blor. Blor looked down at the three concerned soldiers who held Brim. He bared his teeth. "Put Brim back in her cell, and get the other soldiers up! get every soldier out on that battlefield and kill them!" he ordered. The three soldiers nodded. With that, they grabbed Brim roughly by the shoulders and led her back to the cell where Luminite was still being held. _

_Just as they were leaving, Blor noticed the expression on Brim's face. Blor stared down at her. She stared back at him with a serious look on her face. Confidence. She wasnt scared of him anymore. Blor bared his teeth and hissed at her. Brim's mouth slowly curled up into a smirk. _

You are going to lose Blor...just as the prophecy foretold, _Blor read Brim's mind. _

_Blor growled and looked away. He stared out at the battle field before him and narrowed his eyes at Banshee as she snapped her teeth at the soldiers and struck them with her huge wings. Blor stared and saw so much strength and bravery in her. _

_"Little Anera hasss grown up..." Blor said to himself in a mutter as he slithered away. _

...


	37. Chapter 37: Mortals vs Immortals

...

My ears went back in pain as dymamite was lit up around me and went off in deafening explosions. Soldiers shot a couple bats down. The bats screeched in pain as they went down and crashed into the dirt ground. Stump and Chorizo pulled their guns out and began firing at the soldiers. A couple fell, but then would get back up onto their feet and advance toward them.

"Dammit! this aint fair! we cant kill them!" Chorizo shouted over the loud sounds of the explosions to us. Kinski narrowed his eyes at them and kicked a soldier away from him. "It doesnt matter! Stick to ze plan an' go free ze people!" he shouted as he pointed over to the elevator.

The two looked over to the elevator, then back to Kinski. "Sure thing, _boss_," said Stump, smirking as he saluted Kinski. Kinski gave Stump a look, but we could tell he liked being called boss. With that, Stump and Chorizo left us.

...

_Stump and Chorizo made their way out of the middle of the battlefield and to the elevator. "Ok, when we get down there, you show them the scrap of cloth with that symbol on it to convince the townspeople that we are now on their side," said Chorizo. _

_Stump nodded and began to run to the elevator. Just as he did he noticed Brim, chained up and being pulled by three soldiers. Stump gasped and stopped dead in his tracks. "Brim," he breathed as he watched the Immortal and soldiers walk right in front of him. __Before Chorizo could stop him, Stump bolted toward them. _

_"Hey! Let her go!" he shouted. _

_The soldiers stopped and noticed Stump coming toward them. Brim gasped at the sight of Stump. "Stump!" she screamed in shock and excitement. One of the soldiers let go of Brim's arm and approached Stump. Stump raised his fist and tried socking the tall soldier in the face. The soldier grabbed Stump's fist and thrusted it down, while tripping the short rabbit. Stump yelped as his feet left the ground and was forced forward. The soldier forced Stump's arm back. Stump screamed and flipped over onto his back. _

_"No!" screamed Brim. The taller soldier smirked and placed his foot on top of Stump's chest. Stump kicked and squirmed in pain. Brim used all her strength to get out of the distracted soldiers' grip and wrapped the extra loose chains around their necks, causing them to scream in pain as they clutched at their throats. Brim forced them forward, causing them to run into the taller soldier. The taller soldier let go of Stump's arm and collapsed onto the ground._

_Brim went down and grabbed the keys from one of the soldier's belt and unlocked the shackles from her wrists and tied the chains around the three soldiers. Stump got up and helped her. Stump looked up at Brim shyly and smiled. Brim turn him and blushed. _

_"You came back," she said. Stump rubbed the back of his head and looked away. Brim took a step toward him. She lowered down and wrapped her arms around him, embracing Stump in a hug. Stump's eyes widened as he felt Bri m' s warm touch. He felt his heart thumping loudly in his chest. Her straight whiskers brushed lightly against his wirey ones._

_Brim smiled as she moved her right hand up and lifted Stump's hat, revealing his dark orange, pink tinted eyes. Stump's dark, curly bangs instantly went down over his eyes as he felt the tips of his ears burn. Brim smiled warmly and lightly brushed the bangs out of his eyes. As she did, she kissed him lightly on the lips. Stump felt his heart stop and his insides tense up in shock. Gradually, the tense feeling faded away and he closed his eyes and kissed her back. _

_"Hey, lovebirds, let's git a move on!" called Chorizo as he came up to them. Stump and Brim stopped kissing and looked away, blushing like mad. Chorizo jus t rolled his eyes and walked past them to the elevator. Brim and Stump started to follow after him, but Brim stopped. "Wait! Luminite! I almost forgot!" she said outloud. She looked down at Stump. _

_"I'll catch up, you go on and save the others," she said and lifted her snow white wings up and took off toward the jail where Luminite was being held. Stump hesitated as he turned to Brim, then to Chorizo. "Come on Stump! Let's go!" Chorizo called impatiently as he motioned his arm rapidly for Stump to jump into the elevator. _

...

Kinski shouted up at the bats flapping a round us and moved his arm above him in a huge circle. The bats saw Kinski gesturing to them the next move and obeyed. They instantly began to circle above the town. The soldiers watched the formation and continued firing. Kinski moved his arm down and pointed to the soldiers.

The bats screeched and instantly came spiralling down toward the soldiers. The soldiers gasped and dropped their guns when they ran out of ammo. Then they bolted away from the bats as they came down and flapped up to not crash into the ground and went after the soldiers.

The soldiers screamed as the bats' claws grabbed them roughly by the shoulders and hoisted them up into the sky and taken away. Kinski grinned, but stopped when he heard a couple bullets whistle past his head. He ducked and turned his head. More soldiers appeared. "Take him down! He's the leader!" one shouted. Kinski fired a couple rounds with the rifle before running behind me. I screamed at the soldiers, causing them to fly backwards and tumble down the streets.

"Zanks, Banshee," Kinski said, patting my wing as he ran off to shoot more soldiers.

I looked around at the battlefield.

Soltus screeched angrily at some soldiers and pounced on top of them. The soldiers screamed and collapsed down to the ground as Soltus bit and tore through their uniforms with his teeth. They aimed their trembling guns at him, but he smacked them away and shoved them down the street.

The soldiers tumbled away, then got attacked again. Their faces were scratched by Soltus' sharp claws, and bite marks covered their arms. Blood gushed out. Even though they were immortal, they still could feel pain, and it didnt look like their healing abilities weren't fast enough against Soltus' attacks.

Soltus screamed in pain as a couple bullets pierced his fur. He screeched and turned his enormous body over to the other soldiers and attacked them. Above, Crash and a couple other bats flew around the battlefield, dropping heavy rocks onto soldiers, crashing onto the soldier's heads and cracking their skulls. Pink and red was seen gushing out of their bodies. I cringed in disgust and looked away.

This was going to be a long battle...

...

_Brim flapped her wings and landed at the entrance of the jail. She opened the door and found Luminite in the jail cell. He looked up. "Brim," he said as his ears perked up in surprise. Before Brim could say anything, she heard rustling behind the sheriff's wooden desk. A guard was seen fast asleep with a bunch of empty liquor bottles strewn all over the surface of the desk and the ground. _

_The guard was big, and had thick fur on his arms and face. His alcohol stained clothes were a bit small on him, and his feet stuck out at the ends of his boots. _

_The guard's hat was over his eyes as he slept in the chair with his crossed feet resting on the edge of the cluttered desk. Resting on top of his chest with his arms on top, were Brim and Luminite's weapons. Brim and Luminite exchanged glances. Brim took a deep breath, and exhaled quietly before silently approaching the guard. When she got close to him, her grey skirt lightly brushed up against his theigh. _

_The guard snorted and shifted. Brim held her breath and reached for the weapons. The guard shifted again, pulling the weapons tighter to his chest. Brim bit her lip. Her fingers flexed and twitched in mid air. She looked over at Luminite. _

_Luminite gingerly got up and faced her from the cell. He gripped the bars tightly for support. He pointed to one of the empty bottles and motioned for her to switch it with the weapons. Brim nodded and turned back to the guard. _

_She grabbed an empty bottle and raised her other hand. Brim narrowed her eyes as she concentrated. The guard kept snoring away. Brim carefully grabbed the handles of the weapons, and pulled them while she moved the bottle under the blades. _

_Suddenly, the guard shifted again and made a grunting noise. As he did, he moved his arms. Brim took the chance and lifted the weapons away and placed the bottle on the guards chest. The guard's arms touched the bottle and rested on top of it. The guard continued to sleep heavily. Brim sighted with relief in her mind and turned to Luminite. Luminite grinned as she raised the weapons._

_As she did, her left feathery white wing lightly brushed up against the bottles on the table. Luminite's smile faded and his eyes grew wide. He pointed to the desk. Brim stopped smiling and turned her head around. The bottles clinked against eachother. One bottle teetered, then began to tilt. Brim quickly shifted the weapons over to one arm and used her free hand to reach for the bottle. The bottle fell and rolled off the surface. _

_Brim's pale white fingers stretched toward the bottle, and wrapped around the cold surface of the formed, green tinted glass. She grapped it out of mid air and gripped it tightly. Brim looked up at the guard. The guard shifted and rubbed his eyes. Brim stayed bent over. She held her breath. The guard finally relaxed and went back to sleeping. Brim sighed with relief and stood upright. _

_With that, Brim quietly walked over to Luminite in the cell. She pulled out one of her small blades and used it to pick the lock. The lock made a soft _click _and the door opened slightly. Luminite quietly opened the door, careful to not make the rusty hinges squeak and moan, and stood before Brim. _

_Brim smiled and handed the white wolf his sword. Luminite accepted it and slid it into his sheath. Brim did the same with her weapons. The two Immortals silently walked out the door. Luminite quietly closed the worn down wooden door behind him and stared down at Brim. Before Brim could do anything, Luminite went down and wrapped his arms around her. Brim stiffened and stared at Luminite._

_Luminite never hugged. He wasnt one who liked them. Luminite stopped hugging Brim and smiled down at her. Suddenly, his white ears shot straight up and he looked out on Main street. Soldiers were seen running out of the lit up buildings by the hundreds and were advancing toward the small group of bats and two familiar creatures. _

_"Banshee! Kinski!" said Luminite in surprise as he watched them fight against the multiplying immortal soldiers. It was an unfair fight. The bats were allready being killed and falling from the skies around the two creatures. Thousands of immortal soldiers against a couple mortal bats and one half immortal rabbit, it was unfair!_

_Luminite narrowed his eyes and took a step toward the war. Brim stopped him. "You cant go out there! You're too weak to fight!" she said. Luminite's legs gave in and he faltered, proving Brim's point. Brim helped her friend up and supported him. Luminite sighed in frustration and looked out at the battlefield. _

_"Then what good am I if I cant fight? I want to help them. They dont stand a chance against all those immortal soldiers," Luminite said as he watched two bats try to slaughter a soldier, but the soldier's body healed itself and the soldier shot the bats down. The bats' bodies laid in a pool of their own blood. _

_Brim's white rabbit ears twitched. "You are only one Immortal. One immortal, one half immortal, and a couple mortals against a thousand of them! It's impossible! we need to leave!" she said and began pulling Luminite to the elevator that led to the mines where the chained up slaves were. Brim didnt plan on fighting, she knew it was too much for the mortals to handle. She didnt want to see innocent lives get lost...not again..._

_It was beyond their control. Brim wanted the townspeople of Dirt to leave. _

_Luminite planted his feet firmly on the ground. Brim looked up at him. Luminite stared out at the battlefield, then he slowly turned his head to Brim. He had a small smile on his face, revealing his sharp teeth. _

_"No... what we need to do...is find Mr. Black..." he said._

* * *

**I have just started up a DeviantArt account and uploaded some pics of some of my characters :) I'm under the same name: Bat13SJx. Check them out :)**


	38. Chapter 38: Stump and Chorizo

...

_Stump and Chorizo stood in the elevator as it made its way down to the mines underneath the town. The rusted metal scraped against the sides of the rock, making the two short creatures cringe and flinch from the ear-splitting sounds._

_Chorizo held his hands up to his ears and pressed them flat against the side of his head and began to pray in Spanish that the elevator wouldnt snap and let them come crashing to their deaths._

_Stump held the sides of the rusty, raw metal bars and leaned a bit over to see if they were close to the bottom or not._

_Gradually, the elevator made its way to the bottom and screeched to a halt. Their hearts continued to pound loudly as their eyes adjusted to the darkness. A cold wind went right through them, making them shiver. Flames in oil lanturns and torches were seen hanging either above them or wedged in the cracks in the crevices of the tunnel walls. Loose rocks tumbled and crashed near Stump and Chorizo's feet, making them jump._

_Chorizo held his chest, trying to calm his beating heart as he adjusted the worn sombraro on his hat and looked down the huge dark tunnel. Then he turned his head to Stump. Stump was shaking a bit, but he tried masking it by keeping a straight face. Chorizo motioned for Stump to go first._

_"After you, _amigo,"_ said Chorizo. Stump didnt move. He lifted his shaking hands. "A-after you," he said in a shaky voice. Chorizo opened his mouth, but then closed it and decided to not fight with his friend._

_Chorizo took a deep breath as he straightened himself up, then confidently took the lead. Stump followed close behind_.

_The flickering flames in the torches and lanturns began to diminish in number, stretching the nervous short creatures' shadows as they searched for the enslaved town. Stump trembled as he looked around in the dark tunnels of the aquifer. His long, droopy ears were alert, and his hands were close to his chest. _

_He yelped and jumped, bumping into Chorizo when he heard a noise. Chorizo yelped as well, but stopped when he realized what just happened. He muttered something in Spanish and shoved the scared rabbit away from him._

"¿Cuál es su problema?!" _asked_ _Chorizo angrily. Stump's knees shook as he averted his eyes from his crossed friend. Chorizo huffed and turned back around and continued to lead the way. Stump followed behind his friend so close, Chorizo could feel the hot breath roll down the back of his neck. Chorizo stopped, causing Stump to bump into him and yelp in surprise. Chorizo spun around and glared at him. _

_"Why dont you take the lead, _amigo_?!" he snarled. Stump's eyes widened at the words Chorizo spat out at him. "N-no. Y-yer doin' a f-f-fine job takin' th-the l-lead," the jackrabbit said nervously. Chorizo huffed angrily again. "What is up with you? You afraid of the dark or somethin'?" he asked. Stump narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth a bit. _

_"N-no," he stuttered. Chorizo rolled his eyes. With that, he pulled out a half used box of matches and struck one. He walked over to the right side of the tunnel and grabbed a torch; its flame was dull and low. Chorizo lit up the top of the torch and it blazed to life. With that, he handed it over to Stump. _

_"Here, now light the way," he said as he pushed Stump forward. Stump stumbled forward, almost dropping the torch, and moved forward down through the dark tunnel. Lighting the way, with Chorizo following right behind. _

_It didnt take them long to run into a soldier. _

_The soldier didnt hesitate to raise his gun and fire at them. The short outlaws moved out of the way and hid behind a couple of boulders. Stump and Chorizo both cursed up a storm as they held their bleeding sides where the bullets were buried in their flesh. _

_Fortunately, it was still night outside above them. Unfortunately ,their immortal healing abilities were not helping as much. Chorizo pulled out a knife from his boot and began carving the bullet out of his gut. Stump flinched away from the blood. __Chorizo wrinkled his nose from the horrible smell before prying the chunk of lead out of his stomach and leaning back and sighing with relief._

_ Stump felt the blood drain from his face when Chorizo offered the red, dripping knife to him. Stump placed his hand over his mouth to keep from vomiting and hesitated on grabbing the bloody knife. __Suddenly, bullets whizzed over their heads as they sat their on the ground behind the boulders. _

_"Come on out you cowards!" yelled the soldier after the gunshots. Chorizo took off his over sized sombraro, revealing his dirty, wirey black hair that he kept unwashed and lifted his head from behind the boulder to stare right at the soldier. _

"¡Ven y sácame! usted pedazo de mierda!"_ Chorizo shouted._

_The soldier didnt have to understand that Chorizo's words was an insult as he raised his gun again and began to appraoch the shrew. Chorizo ducked and sat right next to his wounded friend as he got his gun ready. Chorizo listened to the soldier's footsteps, and the gunshots. _

_Bang! Bang!_

_"_quatro...cinco_..." counted Chorizo as he began placing bullets into his gun._

_Bang! Bang!_

_"_seis...siete_..." _

_..._

_Chorizo didnt hesitate on the pause as got up, spun around to face the soldier, and aimed his gun. _

_Bang!_

_Bang!_

_Chorizo's bullet hit the soldier first. The soldier's bullet whizzed by Chorizo's head. Nearly shaving the top of his head off. The soldier cried in pain as he clutched his bleeding chest and collapsed to his knees. _

_"..._ocho_..." Chorizo finished counting and lowered his gun._

_The soldier clutched his chest. Suddenly, the soldier straightened up a bit and looked down at his chest. The red blotch on his uniform was beginning to shrink. Chorizo cursed in Spanish and shot the soldier in the chest again, causing the soldier to collapse backwards. _

_"Fergot about that..." he muttered as he calmly grabbed the leather strap connected to the satchel and pulled out a stick of dynamite. He turned his head over to Stump. "Be useful and bring the light over here," he asked. Stump brought the torch over to Chorizo. _

_Chorizo placed the string into the flickering yellow flames and lit the dynamite. The fuse lit up and began to spark and instantly eat away at the white string. Chorizo tossed the red stick of dynamite over to the collapsed soldier. The soldier was just sitting upright when he saw the dynamite at his feet. He gasped. _

_Before he could scream, the sound of approaching footsteps were heard. "Teff? Teff, are you there? We heard you scream," replied a voice as three uniformed soldiers appeared right near the soldier named Teff. _

_Stump and Chorizo ducked their heads behind the boulders and covered their ears. _

_KABOOM!_

_Stump and Chorizo continued to squat where they hid as the tunnel shook and fist sized rocks fell from above and crashed on top of their heads. After the shaking ceased, dust filled up the tunnel. They coughed and waved their arms in front of their bodies as the thick dust began to swirl around them._

_ Stump and Chorizo got up and continued to wave their arms and opened their eyes. Through the layers of dust in the air, they could faintly make out the remains of the four soldiers. All heaps of flesh, trying to form and piece back together at a slow rate. _

_Stump held his mouth, but couldnt hold the amount of hot, digested food in his stomach for long as he turned away from the gory scene. He quickly placed the flaming torch into a crevice in the tunnel wall before hurling. _

_Chorizo winced at the smoking flesh and hot blood, but straightened up and swallowed the barf back down and faced the disgusting scene like a man. __"Well...That was fun," commented Chorizo, smiling a small smile as he turned his head over to Stump. _

_Stump continued to vomit. Chorizo walked over and patted Stump's arched back. Stump coughed and nodded his head as a sign of thanks for giving him sympathy. "Take yer time," said Chorizo and patted Stump's back one last time before walking away. _

_ The shrew grabbed his hat and looped the leather strap that held the satchel back over his head. With that, he calmly walked out from the boulders and to the shifting gunk piles and blood. He stared down at them and examined the things that once resembled soldiers. _

_The piles of destroyed bones and twisted organs were seen moving, as if they had a mind of their own; Trying to piece an impossible puzzle back together...which will take some time...but enough time for the two short outlaws to go on their way. _

_Stump stopped throwing up and lifted his head up. He wiped the vomit from his mouth. "Chorizo?" he asked. Chorizo looked up from the bodies. "Si?" he asked. Stump paused before continuing. "Jus' makin' sure yer still there," he answered. Chorizo stared at his friend for a minute. _

_"I wouldnt leave my squeamish friend here alone in the dark," Chorizo said smirking. Stump's fists tightened by his sides, but still wouldnt turn around. Chorizo continued to laugh in his head as he walked up to his friend. Stump sighed and grabbed the torch from the rock crevice before placing his free hand over his eyes and being spun around by Chorizo. _

_With Chorizo as his temporary eyes, Stump blindly walked forward through the tunnel while lighting the way._

_..._

_After a couple minutes, Chorizo let go of Stump's shoulders. "Ok, you can look now," Chorizo said. Stump slowly lifted his phalanges from his eyes and blinked a couple times before looking around the tunnel. The tunnel had opened up and revealed the very mining spot where the citizens were being held against their own will. _

_A cold gust of wind blew into the two outlaws' faces, blowing out the torch. Stump stared at the charred end of the torch and sighed in the darknesss. Thankfully, the mines was lit up with a lot of lanturns and torches. _

_Mine carts full of glittering raw metal were seen being pushed by the shackled women and children of Dirt. A good distance away was a small smith stand. The male citizens were seen hammering away at the raw metal and shaping them into weapons of destruction. Behind them, fire exploded out from a huge oven like object. Around ten to fifteen soldiers were seen surrounding the citizens; keeping them in line and not stopping to rest. _

_"Keep it moving!" yelled a soldier to Priscilla as he struck the butt of his gun against her back. Priscilla screamed in pain and collapsed. "Hey! leave her alone!" yelled Ricochet as he began to walk away from his station near the forging area and began to appraoch the soldier. The soldier raised his gun at the grey male rabbit. "Git back to yer station, boy!" he snapped. _

_ "No! Ricochet!" Priscilla shouted. The citizens began to hesitate as they watched the fight. Rango tried helping. "W-wait! You cant-" "Shut it, lawman!" snapped another soldier and shoved Rango back into the crowd of slaves. Stump looked over to Chorizo, who was watching the scene in horror. Chorizo's mind flashed horrible images from his past..._

_ The shrew shook the painful flashbacks and took a step forward. He raised his gun and fired. _

_Bang!_

_The soldier with the gun screamed in pain as it was jerked out of his hand. The soldier growled as he gripped his wrist tightly and turned his head over to Chorizo. Before he could yell anything, Chorizo shot him in the face, making him fall backwards into another soldier. Soon, all the soldiers were aware of the short outlaws', and advanced toward them. __Ricochet helped Priscilla up. Ricochet, Priscilla, and all the other town citizens stopped what they were doing and watched as the soldiers advanced toward the two outlaws. _

_"Cho-!" Stump screamed, but was interrupted as bullets whizzed by his head. "I've got it under control!" Chorizo snapped back to the stumpy jackrabbit as he began to move. Stump did the same. They went in opposite directions, causing the soldiers to split into two groups. Chorizo stopped firing and went down through a different tunnel in the aquifer. The group of soldiers followed._

_Stump got shot in the stomach again, causing him to curse in pain and collapse to the ground. The six soldiers surrounded him and watched as the blood bagan to slowly evaporate away. One of them growled. "Damn, he's immortal like us." _

_A uniformed lizard just shrugged and scratched the side of his head. "We could just fill him up full of lead till there's nothin' left," he offered. _

_A tall jackrabbit with a scar running down his face shook his head. "Naw, that aint fun. Let's light 'im on fire and watch 'im burn to a crisp," a couple other soldiers grunted and liked that idea, but others still didnt like the idea and offered their suggestion. _

_Stump's eyes flickered to each white uniformed soldier in fear, but suddenly noticed something behind the soldiers. Stump quickly realized that it was Spoons, Doc, Rango, Elgin, and Suergeant Turley. They all gripped the loose sections of their chains that connected to their wrists, and were going to jump the soldiers. Stump quickly looked away and tried distracting the soldiers while the five male citizens came forward from behind. _

_"Hey...I w-want a say in this," Stump piped up. All six uniformed male creatures turned their heads and looked down at the wounded, immortal rabbit. Stump took a deep breath and exhaled before answering. "I say...y-you guys let me go and let me live...h-how does that sound?" he asked with a nervous smile. The soldiers stared down at Stump, then threw their heads back and laughed. _

_Their laughs were cut short as the chains looped over their heads and were yanked backwards. The soldiers choked and struggled with the chains that were cutting off their circlation. Stump staggered up and took care of the sixth soldier who wasnt being choked by a chain and shot him a couple times. The soldier collapsed backwards, and Stump quickly grabbed a pick axe that was leaning near the tunnel wall. _

_He smacked the soldier upside the head with the tool, knocking him out. Stump instantly fell ill as blood gushed from the soldier's head. The soldiers body crashed to the ground and didnt move. A small pool of blood formed around the soldier's head. Stump collapsed to his knees, dropping the pick axe and doubling over. He held his stomach from the bullet wounds, and the ill feeling and began to vomit. _

_Rango and the others strangled the five soldiers till they went limp from the lack of oxygen and passed out. Spoons, Doc, Elgin, Rango and Sergeant Turley let the bodies fall to the ground. They sighed with relief and sat down in exhaustion. They took a quick rest before retrieving the ring of keys from one of the soldiers' belt and began unlocking the locks to the shakles on the citizens. _

_Doc found his black doctor's bag tossed and discarded in the corner where it was last put and picked it up. He brushed the dirt off and examined it to see if it was still ok. Rango came by and picked up his hat and placed it firmly on top of his decaying head and smiled with satisfaction to Doc. Then, they both looked up and noticed Stump throwing up ten feet from him. They walked over to the short outlaw and patted his back. _

_"...You ok there, Stump?" Doc asked. Stump finished throwing up and silently shook his head. Doc noticed the wounds in Stump's side. "I can help-" N-no...I'm fine..." Stump said through gritted teeth. Doc and Rango exchanged glances._

_ "Well...thanks fer helpin' us back there...we really appreciated it," Rango said. Stump looked up at the undead sheriff, then the one eared rabbit and wiped his mouth with the back of his furry arm. He straightened up a bit from where he sat. "W-we...me an' Cho-" Stump started, but stopped when a sudden explosion came from the tunnel Chorizo disappeared into. _

_"Chorizo!" Stump gasped as he tried getting up, but the pain in his sides and stomach were too much for him. He instantly felt light headed and groaned. Doc helped him sit back down and began pulling out instruments from his bag to help treat his wounds. Stump decided not to fight it and let the doctor work. Rango and the other males went to the tunnel that was already starting to cough thick plumes of black smoke. _

_The females gasped and held the curious kids back as the male citizens cautiously surrounded the tunnel. Stump looked away from his bleeding stomach as Doc pried the bullets out. As Stump looked away, he looked over at the citizens. They were all thin and bony, but were still able to stand. It was a miracle that they were still alive, even after all the pain and suffering they had to go through. A couple had actually fainted where they stood from lack of sunlight and food. Stump intantly felt horrible for all of them. _

_Just then, Chorizo was seen staggering out from the tunnel and coughed. Spoons caught him before he face planted into the ground. "I got 'im," said Spoons as he carried Chorizo's tired body over to where Stump and Doc were. Behind Spoons, the whole town was allready surrounding their saviors. Their faces and clothes were dirty and ragged, but they had huge smiles of gratitude. _

_Chorizo's eyes fluttered open and he coughed. Elgin, Crispin, Delilah, and a couple other citizens instantly tried helping him sit upright and were patting his back and thanking him. Doc pulled out the last bullet from Stump and waved his arm for the citizens to take a step back. "Git back! They need air!" he said. The citizens took a step back, but didnt leave as they continued to talk excitedly amongst themselves._

_With that, Doc began to work on taking out the bullets from Chorizo. _

_Chorizo winced and grinded his teeth. He looked away and bit his lower lip to keep from screaming. As he did, he noticed the citizens. He stared at the thin, bony citizens. Through all the pain from the explosion, he felt the pains of guilt. _

_His eyes flickered down to Petunia, who he could barely recognize because she was all covered in dirt and soot...also the fact that she had grown a lot since the last time he saw her. Chorizo felt the heavy satchel around his neck. He remembered that he had packed food before leaving Bill's hotel. Chorizo bit his tongue as he scanned the tired, hungry citizens that became slaves to Blor. _

_With slow movements, he took the leather satchel off and opened it up. The citizens stared at the food. Loud moaning sounds came from their stomachs. Chorizo stared down at the food and sighed before tossing it over to the citizens. "Here. Brought you guys some food," he said. The citizens grabbed the food like savages and tore into the satchel as if it were a paper bag and crammed the food into their mouths. _

_As Stump and Chorizo watched the citizens, they realized that there didnt seem to be as many people then the last time. "Is this everyone?" asked Stump over to Rango, just as Beans came up to her undead husband. Rango sighed and placed his arm around Beans' waist. "...We lost a couple good people through the hard weeks..." Rango answered as he and Beans glanced over to the right of them. Stump followed their eyes and looked to the direction they were looking at. He gasped. _

_In the far corner, was a small cemetary, with piled dirt where the dead bodies of Gerald and eight other market traders that Stump and Chorizo never knew their names, but it still brought sadness and guilt. Chorizo broke the silence when Doc pulled a bloody bullet out from his gut. "Ow!" the shrew shouted and bared his teeth at Doc. "Sorry, the bullets are very deep," Doc explained. __Chorizo muttered something insulting under his breath._

_After Doc was done taking out the bullets, Stump and Chorizo carefully got up from the ground and lightly rubbed their sides. Just then, Priscilla, Petunia, Ricochet, Waffles, Stub, and a couple Dirt kids came up to the two outlaws. _

_"Have you come to help us?" asked Petunia. Stump stared down at the little girl and nodded. Petunia smiled. "Does that mean Banshee and Kinski are here too?!" she asked excitedly. "Yeah! Yeah! is Banshee and Kinski here too?!" asked Waffles excitedly as he jumped up and down. A couple other kids grinned and repeated the question. . The mention of Banshee and Kinski's name instantly brought excitement to everyone again. Chorizo narrowed his eyes a bit how the citizens got excited for Banshee and Kinski and not him and Stump for saving their sorry asses, but he decided not to think of it and lowered his head. _

_Stump lifted his hands for the citizens to calm down before answering. "They are keeping the soldiers above occupied while we come down here and get all you guys out of here," Stump explained to them. The town beamed at the outlaws. The group of kids came forward and hugged the two short creatures. Stump stiffened and Chorizo moved out of the way, but hid it by silently retrieving the empty satchel bag that was nearly torn to nothing and slipped it back over his head._

_"If we want to get out of here, _now_ would be a good time," Chorizo said. The citizens nodded and began to walk out of the mines and down to where the elevator was. Stump and Chorizo took the lead. Stump grabbed a torch and lit the way once more. _

_Rango came up alongside Stump. "Are Banshee and Kinski the ontly ones fighting against the soldiers?" he asked. Stump shook his head. "No, they got help. The bats from that Prairie Dog place agreed to fight wit' them." The zombie sheriff didnt seem to like what he just heard. "That's an unfair fight! the soldiers are immortal now, from what I heard, and Blor is too powerful to take down!" _

_Stump looked down at the ground. "...I know...but these were Kinski's orders. He planned this. He just wants everyone out and taken far away to someplace safe...while him, Banshee, and the others distract Blor and the soldiers...Its a one sided war, I know...but it was to save all of you guys..." Stump explained. Rango stared down at his feet as they continued to walk. A couple citizens behind them were listening to their conversation and went quiet. _

_"...We need a miracle...I hope it happens soon..." answered Rango as he thought of Banshee, Kinski and the bats, fighting to their deaths for him and the citizens. __Stump sighed as he pulled out the dirty scrap of cloth with Banshee's faint symbol on the front. _

_"I hope so too, sheriff..." answered Stump in a low voice as he stared down at the symbol. __Chorizo_ looked over at Stump and Rango. His eyes flickered down at the thing in Stump's hands that they were both staring at. The symbol. Chorizo stared at it before looking away and stared down at the ground. 

_"_Así lo espero demasiado_..." he whispered to himself._


	39. Chapter 39: Tears, Mud, and Blood

...

_Luminite and Brim looked out to the battlefield. Almost all the buildings and houses were leveled to the ground and flames flickered up from them. They watched as Banshee screech in pain as the bullets dug into her flesh before transforming back to her normal self. Kinski turned around and called her name, but suddenly got hit by a couple flying bullets himself. He clutched his right shoulder in pain and screamed before falling to his knees in a pool of his own blood. _

_Brim gasped and placed her thin, pale hands over her mouth. __Luminite winced at the bloodshed of the mortal and immortal battle. _

_Kinski and Banshee's army were doing horrible, they barely had enough bats to call an Immortals watched as the immortal soldiers brushed away the debris from their uniforms and smirked as the wounds on their bodies shrank down to nothing. _

_Luminite touched the side of the building where he stood; his folded, dirty wings swayed lazily in the cold breeze. "Keep strong guys...just a...little longer..." Luminite whispered to himself as he stared at his dying friends before limping away to the half destroyed, old, mayor's office. Brim caught up with him. _

_Luminite shivered as the cold winds whipped around him. He pulled his grey cape around him and continued trudging on. Brim rubbed her shoulders a bit and looked up at the sky. Above the white wolf and white rabbit's head, the dark clouds were still swirling. Thunder and lightning began to appear in the folds of the thick swirling darkness. Luminite gripped the cracked, wooden railing as he began to climb up the steps to the destroyed building that Blor took as his new home. _

_ Luminite stumbled a bit, but Brim caught him in time. Luminite nodded his head to Brim and began moving away from her as he walked up the creaking wooden steps, and into the building. A light mist began to spray on Luminite's white muzzle and Brim's light pink nose. The stairs creaked and splintered as Luminite walked up to the second floor._

_Brim sighed to herself and followed after him. She rubbed her shoulders again and looked over to the battlefield. Blor was now talking to them. His eyes burned through the dark atmosphere. She shivered in fear and looked away, her long braid swayed behind her. _

_She really badly wanted to help, but what could she do? Blor was too powerful and would easily take her down with one swipe. Brim looked up at Luminite as they ascended to the second floor. Hopefully Luminite had a plan..._

_When they got to the second floor, they both gasped in horror. Mr. Black was chained up against the wall. Blood dribbled down his face and arms. The glass lenses of his goggles were shattered and his gapping mouth was hanging open as blood and bits of his rotting teeth were falling out and onto the bloody floor. _

_"Mr. Black!" cried Brim. _

_Luminite moved as fast as he could to the dying spider. Brim flew over him and landed in front of Mr. Black and lifted his face up to hers. "Good mercy! What has that demon done to you?!" Luminite asked as he came up next to Brim. Panic heard in his voice. _

_Mr. Black didnt answer as he kept his head down low. The only way Luminite and Brim knew that Mr. Black was still alive was the ever so slight beating of the poor creature's mortal heart..._

_Luminite lifted his arm up and rested his hand on to the steampunk themed spider's head and closed his eyes. Brim gripped his wrist, making him open his gold colored eyes. "You dont have enough strength left!" she said. Luminite narrowed his eyes a bit, but removed his hand from Mr. Black. "Fine...You heal him," he said. Brim turned back to Mr. Black. _

_Gingerly, she lifted his torso up with one arm, and lightly touched his head with the other. Gold currents flowed from Brim's hand and around the spider. Instantly, the wounds and blood began to shrink and disappear on the spider's body. Mr. Black opened his eyes and stared up at the female Immortal rabbit._

_Brim instantly felt lightheaded and moved away from Mr. Black and sat down, holding her head and groaning. Luminite faltered and sat down next to her, patting her back. "You ok?" he asked. Brim shook her head slightly. Luminite looked up at Mr. Black. _

_Silently, he struggled to get up, then pulled out a shiny blade from one of his sheaths and sliced the chains that held Mr. Black as if they were made of butter. Mr. Black rubbed his wrists before looking up at the white wolf._

_Luminite kept himself steady as he stared down at Mr. Black._

_"Mr. Black... we need your help... You have something...something that can make mortals... have the power of imortality..." Luminite rubbed his head and gripped the side of the wall for support. He felt very weak, but kept himself from collapsing and blacking out. He opened his eyes again and stared down at Mr. Black. _

_Mr. Black looked down at his fumbling hands. Something was wrong. There was something about the mention of immortality that Mr. Black discovered...but the only thing he knew about and the Immortals didnt. _

_Luminite stared at Mr. Black. Reading the spiders thoughts was near impossible. He couldnt get anything. Luminite faltered to his knees and held his head. He was losing concentration and his abilities. Brim looked up at Luminite. _

_"Luminite? What's wrong?" she asked. Luminite slowly turned his head over to Brim. "I...I'm growing weak...my...abilites..." he groaned. Brim slowly staggered up on her feet and walked over to Luminite's side before falling to her knees herself. She looked up at Mr. Black. Instantly, she could already sense that something was wrong by the look on the silent spider's face._

_"Mr. Black. We need you to make Kinski, Banshee and their army immortal so they can fight," asked Brim. Mr. Black looked away again. His eyes flickered over to his crumpled tall balck hat and reached over to retrieve it. _

_Brim noticed Mr. Black struggling for his hat; since she was closer to the hat, she reached over to the hat as well and grabbed the brim. Instantly, Mr. Black's arm touched her hand. Brim gasped and pulled away. Mr. Black grabbed his hat, but froze as he looked up at the white female rabbit with silver armor. _

_Brim pulled her sha__king hand away and stared down at it. Her eyes were wide with shock. Luminite stared at Brim from where he sat. _

_"Brim...?" asked Luminite. _

_Brim's body and white wings began to quiver as she slowly began to curl up into a ball. "No...no...no..." she whispered as tears began to form in her eyes. Luminite touched her shoulder. "What? What did you see?" he asked. Brim saw something from Mr. Black's mind. A piece of information that was important to them. _

_Tears rolled down Brim's face as she got up and turned her head to the doors. Above, the ceiling was gone and rain was beginning to fall down. "...Stump...I need to get to Stump..." she said out loud. Before Luminite could stop her, Brim opened up her wings and took off from the building with no roof and toward the mines under the town. _

_Luminite turned to Mr. Black. Mr. Black simply got up and helped Luminite up. Luminite refused, but Mr. Black insisted as he helped the Immortal up and helped him out of the room and down the wet stairs..._

* * *

_At the Underground Mines..._

_Ricochet held Priscilla's hand tightly as they continued walking through the dark tunnels with Stump lighting the way. "A-are you ok, Prissy?" he asked. Priscilla's face that was covered in dirt turned to look up at her boyfriend. Her eyes were beautiful in the light, and her smile made him sigh with relief. _

_"I'm ok, Rico," she said, squeezing Ricochet's hand. __Ricochet smiled back and placed his arm around her. Priscilla smiled as they continued on. _

_Stub and Petunia followed right behind them. They looked up at their parents and smiled. "I knew they would come and save us!" said Stub excitedly jumping up and down next to his dad. Petunia jumped up and down too while gripping the stethoscope around her neck. "I cant wait to see Banshee and Kinski again!" said Petunia excitedly as she held her mother's hand. _

_Mrs. Rodent smiled, but it quickly disappeared as she looked away from her daughter. She was happy that she and her family were getting out of the mines...but she was afraid that Kinski and Banshee wouldnt be there to see them...she was afraid that they were already dead..._

_Mr. Rodent placed his arm around his wife and held her close. "It's ok...Banshee and Kinski are strong...they will be ok..." he assured her. Mrs. Rodent smiled to her husband as she thought of Kinski and Banshee. Ever since she welcomed them both into her family, she already felt as if they were her own. She loved them as much as she loved her kids; and she didnt want anything to happen to her kids..._

_Behind the family and a couple market traders, was Burton, who walked beside Roon. Burton turned his head over to Roon. She was covered in mud, though he thought she still looked beautiful. Burton lushed at the thought of Roon and looked away with a smile on his face. He wished he had the courage to just tell her how he felt...but...he just couldnt. _

_Roon turned her head to Burton. Burton has been acting very strange around her ever since they met. She shrugged and decided not to worry about it as she smiled at the thought of Banshee and Kinski. They had come to save them. She knew they would come. She sighed at the thought of the cute couple. She really badly wanted to see them get married. Roon loved weddings, and preparing them for couples, which was why she wanted them to get married...or maybe another couple! _

_Roon caught Burton looking at her at the corner of her eye and turned her head over to him. "Burton? are you ok?" she asked. Burton blushed under his fur and looked away. "I...I'm fine..." he said. Roon smiled and touched his shoulder, making Burton tense up._

_"I cant wait for things to back the ways they were," she said, striking up a conversation. Burton silently nodded. Roon sighed and rested her head against his stiff shoulder. "When everything is fixed up and Blor is gone, I'm going to start working on wedding preparations." _

_This made Burton tense up even more. "Wh-what?" he asked, his heart skipping a beat. Roon couldnt help but laugh. "I really badly want Kinski and Banshee to get married. I just love weddings..." she said. Burton sighed with relief in his head, though he found it interesting how Roon was into weddings. _

_"...yeah...weddings are fun..." he said. Roon looked up at Burton. "Do you have someone special in your life you plan on marrying?" she asked excitedly. Burton felt his heart pounding heavily in his chest as he stared down at the female tan colored desert fox. _

_"...yeah..." he admitted as a smile formed on his face. Roon grinned, her eyes went wide in excitement. "Who?! Do I know her?" she asked. Burton blushed and looked down at his walking feet._

_"Yeah...you know her...very well.." he said in a low voice. _

_..._

_The small party of citizens continued to walk down the dark tunnels. Rango and Beans held hands as they walked right behind Stump and Chorizo. Behind them was the rest of Rango's posse, muttering amongst themselves about Stump and Chorizo. _

_"Why didnt Banshee and Kinski come down here instead? I dont like Stump and Chorizo," muttered Elgin bitterly as he crossed his arms over his chest. Waffles jumped up and down excitedly. "But they saved us! they saved us!" he said excitedly. _

_Buford nodded. "Yeah, we could still be down here slaving away, but they came and freed us," the amphibian answered. _

_Elgin rolled his eyes and muttered something insulting. _

_Sergeant Turley narrowed his eye at Elgin. "Why are you against them anyway?" he asked. Mr Furgus nodded. "Yeah, they are helping us," he added. Elgin didnt answer. Wounded Bird came up next to Elgin and stared at him._

_ "We trust Kinski...why should we not trust Stump and Chorizo?" he asked. _

_Elgin stared at Wounded Bird, but narrowed his eyes and looked away. Wounded Bird didnt wait for an answer as he walked past him and to the front. Everyone stopped talking and continued walking. _

_Elgin walked alone. He sighed angrily to himself as Wounded Bird's question kept repeating in his head..._

* * *

_During the time..._

Kinski looked over at me as I pulled my tattered dress down to my knees and shivered. He began to crawl his way over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me close to his chest. I felt tears run down my face as my body shook. "I-I...c-cant go o-on..." I whimpered as the unfathomable pain jolted throughout my body. Kinski's bleeding nose twitched as he stared down at me. He slowly nodded his head.

We turned our heads, all around us, the bats were falling from the skies and dying. Soltus screeched in pain as the soldiers grabbed him and tried holding him down. His face was scratched and bleeding and one of his wings was on fire.

Crash and a couple other bats had crashed into the nearby buildings of the town. Explosions erupted and bat chunks rained down on us. The soldiers' wounds and limbs were beginning to grow back. They grinned at us as they began to advance toward us. Kinski held me tightly as he glared up at the immortal army of soldiers. He growled a warning to stay back, but they didnt listen. A soldier aimed his gun at me, but Kinski moved me aside, placing himself in front of the gun.

I felt my heart stop and tried to stop Kinski, but he ignored me as he glared up at the soldiers. "Leave Banshee alone...kill me instead...but not 'er..." he said. The soldiers snickered as they aimed their guns at his face.

"Whatever you want, freak," said the first soldier as he clicked the hammer back. "No! Kinski-" "Banshee!" yelled Kinski. I stopped and began to cry as I stared up at him. Kinski placed his bloody hand on the side of my face.

"Zis vas ze plan...ve knew vhat vas gonna happen in ze end..." Kinski said in a more calm voice. Tears flowed down my face. I didnt want him to die...he meant everything to me. He was the person I wanted to be with forever.

I opened my mouth to speak. Before I could answer, a loud hiss was heard. The soldiers looked up and quickly moved out of the way as Blor in Jake's body appeared before us. Kinski slowly got up and helped me up as well as Blor loomed over us with a huge evil grin on his face. Kinski slouched low, clutching his right arm as he held me. I winced from the pains in my wings as I stared up at Blor.

The huge demon in Jake's body's eyes glowed in the darkness. He stared down at his army. "Go back to your ssstationssss...I'll take care of thesse two mysssself," he answered. Obediantly, the soldiers lowered their weapons from us and walked away, leaving us alone with the demonlord. Blor stared down at us.

"Well well well...it hassss finally come down to the end...your army hasss been defeated..." said Blor as he turned his head over to the lifeless bodies of the bats that littered the ground. "Your town is still mine..." Blor pointed out again as he looked around at the destroyed town that didnt look like a town anymore. Debris was everywhere, and the buildings were gone, only piles of broken wood and broken pieces of personal belongings...and memories. Blor turned back to us. "And now you...Anera and Kinsssski..."

Kinski flinched when Blor said his name. "You two are the last onesss left..." Blor chuckled and lifted himself higher as he continued to stare down at us. "You lossse...give up and I'll let you two live..." said Blor. Kinski narrowed his eyes eyes at Blor.

"_Nein_," he said in German. Blor couldnt help but laugh a cold laugh. "I wassssnt asking _you, _German boy, I was asking Anera...since we both know what's going to happen to you in less than six hoursss..." answered Blor. Kinski's eyes widened. I stared up at Blor, then at Kinski. "What is he talking about, Kinski?" I asked him. Kinski stared up at Blor. "...no...it c-cant be six hours..." he stuttered in a low voice.

I felt the blood drain from my face. "K-Kinski?" I asked him.

Blor grinned down at us. "Yesss Kinssski...what isss it? What iss the thing you need to tell?" Blor teased. Kinski hesitated, then narrowed his eyes. "I...Is nozing! Y-you're lying!" he screamed at Blor. Blor gave me a sideways grin. "It'sss so much fun to watch him get angry," he said to me. Kinski couldnt stand it any longer. He pulled out his gun from his holster and pulled the trigger.

_Click!_

Kinski cursed and chucked his gun at Blor. The gun hit Blor in the eye, causing him to rear back in pain and hiss angrily. With the demonlord distracted, Kinski gripped my wing and pulled me into a run. I ran in my tattered dress beside Kinski; running toward the exit of the town. I could hear Blor right behind us, but I kept running.

Suddenly,the clouds above seemed to change and grow darker. Then, it rained. Thunder boomed, causing me to fall into the slimy mud. Kinski stopped and grabbed my wing. He helped me up and we both continued to run away from Blor. Blor laughed a cold laugh and used his tail to whip around us, causing us to slip and fall into the mud. His coils wrapped around us. Kinski had enough time to push me out of the way.

"No!" I screamed but squeezed my eyes shut as tons of mud fell on me. Kinski was lifted high into the air. He stopped squirming in the snake's coils when he found himself face to face with the eyes of Blor. Kinski's eyes widened in horror.

Blor hissed loudly. "Nice try, freak...but you'll need to try much harder then that to ssstop me..." Blor said. Kinski gasped as Blor began to squeeze him. "No!" I screamed and came up to Blor. Kinski struggled and tried gasping for air, but he couldnt. I screamed at Blor, but it didnt stop him. "Stop it! leave him alone!" I screamed. Blor ignored me and laughed at Kinski as he struggled for air. Kinski kicked his legs and tried moving his arms, but they were stuck at his sides.

Blor grinned revealing a set of sharp teeth. "You mortalsss are ssso much fun to torture..." he said.

Suddenly, Blor's eyes widened and he stopped squeezing Kinski. A strange sound was heard past the pouring down rain and thunder. Blor turned his head, just in time to see The elevator come up with the remaining townspeople, Stump, and Chorizo. Blor's firey eyes widened, dropping Kinski in the process. Kinski fell into the mud next to me. He coughed and gasped for air as he was caked in mud. I wrapped my wings around him and held him close to me.

Blor bared his teeth angrily. "No!" he shouted as he slithered to the elevator that was coming to the surface. Everyone screamed and ran out of the rusty elevator and into the pouring rain and down the street. Blor used the gatling gun and began shooting at the townspeople.

"No!" I screamed in horror, but was drowned out by the loud, booming thunder. Stump tripped and fell into the mud. Before I could flinch, I saw a streak of white through the heavy sheets of rain.

Brim.

Brim grabbed Stump by the arms and flapped away through the rain. I could see Stump kicking his stubby legs as he was carried up into the air by Brim. Blor stopped shooting and turned his head when a scream was heard from the elevator.

My eyes widened when I saw that The Rodent family was still in the elevator. Blor roared as he whipped his tail around and smashed it down onto the roof of the elevator.

"No!" I screamed.

Petunia and Stub screamed in fear as the metal screamed and scraped against the sides. Blor stopped squishing the roof down and ripped the roof off. "Run kids!" screamed Mr. and Mrs. Rodent at the same time. Stub and Petunia didnt move. "Run!" their parents shouted. Blor hissed and flicked his tail toward them. Stub grabbed his little sister and bolted down the street. Mr. and Mrs. Rodent tried running too, but werent fast enough.

I felt Kinski lift his head up and gasped in horror as Blor coiled his tail around the rodent parents. "No!" Kinski and I screamed. Past our screams, I could hear Stub and Petunia's screams too. Blor stared at us, then over at Stub and Petunia where they stood in the middle of the wet street. Lightning cracked behind Blor's/Jakes head as he lifted Mr. and Mrs. Rodent up high in his coils. A grin appeared on his face.

Blor squeezed his coils around Mr. and Mrs. Rodent. "NOOO! STOP!" Kinski screamed as he staggered up and came toward Blor but collapsed back down into the mud in exhaustion. His face was covered in mud and blood as he stared up at Mr. and Mrs. Rodent. They struggled for air. Petunia and Stub were screaming and crying as they watched their parents die before them. Blor tightened his coils around the two adults harder, crushing their insides and their ability to breathe.

Within the seconds, their bodies went limp, and they were dead. Kinski and I felt as if we got crushed by a boulder.

Mr. and Mrs. Rodent were like our parents too, and seeing them die before us hurt as much as it was hurting Stub and Petunia. Kinski was on his knees, breathing heavily as he watched Mr. and Mrs. Rodent's limp bodies slip from Blor's coils and fall into the mud in front of him. Rain poured down his face...or were they tears?

Blor smirked at the dead parents. "Like I ssssaid...itsss ssso much fun to torture you mortalsss..." he said. Stub and Petunia fell to their knees and balled.

Anger boiled up inside me. I transformed into the Nightmare and attcked Blor. Blor didnt see me coming and fell backwards into the mud. Hot tears rolled down my face as I glared down at the possessed snake. I screamed at his face.

Scales, flesh and blood ripped away from his face until I could see the skull. Blood splattered onto my face, but I continued to scream. I screamed till I didnt have any air left inside me. Blor shoved me off him. He shook his bleeding skull face left and right. The flesh, veins and blood came growing back onto the snake's face as if it were in reverse. I staggered backwards, then turned around and came to Kinski.

I scooped the frozen Kinski into my massive wings and placed him onto my back. I staggered some more, and found Stub and Petunia still crying in the middle of the street in the rain. More tears flowed down my face as I scooped them up and placed them on my back. I tried flapping my wings, but the pain was worse and I stopped. I didnt look back, I knew Blor was watching me. A trail of blood formed as I limped away into the darkness...

...

_Blor's borrowed face healed itself back. He turned his head and watched as Banshee, Kinski and the rodent kids left the town and into the darkness. He smirked and flicked this forked tongue out. Just then, a couple soldiers came up beside him with their guns loaded and ready. _

_"Sir, the town has escaped! and-" "It'sss allright, sssoldier...let them be...They'll be back..." answered Blor as he stared out into the desert. The soldiers looked up at Blor. "Wh-what about the bat girl..and the rabbit...?" Blor just smirked as he thought of the shocked faces of Banshee and Kinski. Then he stared down at the dead bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Rodent. _

_Without another word, he left the bodies to rot and bury in the mud as he slithered away. The soldiers watched their leader leave them, then decided to not go after the bat and rabbit and went back to their stations. _

_As Blor slithered down the street, the rain lightned up a bit, and the clouds shifted and calmed down till it was completely gone. Blor slithered to the old building he was staying in and curled up in the first floor that still seemed intact from the small war. _

_"They'll be back...and I will be the lassst thing they sssssee before I kill them..." answered Blor to himself as he closed his eyes._

* * *

**I feel awful for killing Mr. and Mrs. Rodent. :( they were the most awesome parents to Stub, Petunia, Banshee and Kinski. Now, they are orphans...I feel very horrible...but that is what Blor is...a heartless bastard who thinks that torturing, then killing mortals is fun...**

***sigh* they will be remembered as great characters and great parents...**

**Hope you enjoyed, and hopefully next chapter will be up soon. Multiple tests keep coming and homework is piling up so fast its not even funny. :P Well, I promise: I will finish this story, even if I have to walk through fire and defeat Blor myself, just to get on a computer and write the next chapter! :) **

**Also, I have been thinking of writing stories of Kinski, Chorizo, and Stump's past and how they were before they became gunslingers. Not sure, but I'm thinking of it. Tell me what you think and who's past i should write first :) Thank you and have a nice day :) **


	40. Chapter 40: Till the End

Pain was the first thing that I felt when I came to. I sat upright and groaned. I felt tears running down my face as I rubbed the side of my head gently. I slowly sat upright and looked down at myself. I was wrapped in bandages. Doc must have came by and treated my wounds while I was unconscious.

I turned my head and noticed that Kinski was sitting right next to me. He was wide awake, staring across the open, dark desert. He had bandages wrapped around his arms and torso.

His clothes were tattered and blood stains were seen all over his body. His hair was a complete mess and gashes were seen on his face, but he didnt seem bothered by them as he sat, deep in his thoughts. The expression on his face was filled with pain and loss. His shoulders quivered a bit, not just from the slight chill in the gentle winds. He lowered his head.

"Kinski?" I asked. Kinski flinched and turned his head around. "B-Banshee...I...I d-dint hear ya vake up..." he said in a low voice as he looked away to wipe his eyes. I stared up at him. "...Are you you ok?" I asked him. Kinski didnt turn his head back to me as he stared down at the ground.

Next to him, curled up, was Stub and Petunia. Tears came down my face as I watched them sleep. Their faces were wet from their tears, and their eyes were squeezed shut as if something in their dreams was disturbing them. Kinski stared down at them in sympathy and sadness as he lightly ran his hand over Petunia's short black hair. Petunia stirred, then stopped and continued to sleep.

"...I know how zey feel...to lose somevone..." Kinski said in a low voice. "Eternal pain...never goes avay..." he said as he lowered his head, his bangs covering his face. His shoulders shook. I came up to him and wrapped my wings around him. Kinski turned his head to me and buried his face in my shoulder. I rested my head on his as tears came down my face and into his dirty blonde hair.

Kinski's shoulders continued to tremble. I felt horrible as we sat there with Stub and Petunia sleeping next to us. Orphans. We were all orphans...alone...with no parents...Scared children in the darkness...

Just then, I lifted my head up when I heard footsteps. Priscilla and Ricochet approached us. Kinski lifted his head. He quickly looked down, hiding his wet eyes behind his bangs. The two teens stared down at us with looks of sorrow. "Good Morning," Priscilla said in a sad voice. We didnt say anything. Ricochet looked over at Stub and Petunia, then at us.

"I'-I'm sorry...for yer guys' loss..." he said in a sad whisper. He knew that Kinski and I cared for Mr. and Mrs. Rodent as if they were our own parents. Kinski continued to stare down at the ground. "...Zey didnt deserve to die...vhy did ze 'ave to...?" he asked in a quiet voice. No one answered. Kinski shifted uncomfortably where he sat. His hands balled up into fists.

Priscilla decided to change the subject. "The town is wondering what we are going to do now," she said. I turned to look at Kinski. Kinski twitched. He continued to hide his face behind his hair from the world. I turned back to Ricochet and Priscilla. "I-I'm not sure..." my voice faltered. It was quiet for a minute. I was about to speak, but Kinski spoke first.

"Is not fair!" Kinski screamed, startling Stub and Petunia.

Instantly when they woke up, tears were beginning to form. Kinski bared his teeth in anger, but stopped when he saw Petunia crying next to him. His tense shoulders relaxed a bit as he stared down at his young friend. Petunia reached out with her arms and hugged Kinski.

Ricochet, Priscilla, and I watched as he slowly leaned over, gently picked her up and placed her in his lap. He hugged her. Petunia wrapped her small arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. Kinski lightly stroked the top of her head. "I'm sorry, Petunia...I'm sorry..." he said as his voice became a whisper as he tried to comfort the young rodent.

Stub cried on the other side of him. Kinski looked over at Stub with sadness. He wrapped one arm around the boy. Stub cried into Kinski's other shoulder. Priscilla and Ricochet stared at the three in sorrow and lowered their heads. Tears burned down my face. I couldnt take it anymore. I began to walk away. Ricochet and Priscilla noticed me walking away and followed me, leaving Kinski, Stub, and Petunia.

I stopped at the bottom of the sloping dirt hill when I noticed the townspeople, sitting upright or just standing there with their heads down. They were a group of citizens without a town. I noticed Rango with Beans, talking to eachother. They looked over to us, then looked away sadly. I scanned over the posse, who sat there on the cold hard dirt ground, picking at the small pepples, or uprooting the dead plants around them.

As I stared down at them, I noticed that there werent as many townspeople as there were last time. Some faces were missing. "Where's the rest?" I asked, instantly beginning to panic that there were still more people down in the mines. Ricochet sighed and looked over at Priscilla before turning to me. "...We are all that's left..." the grey rabbit said. My eyes widened. Priscilla came up next to Ricochet. "Gerald... was the first to go," she said sadly. I felt my heart stop.

"Wh-what?" I asked. Ricochet sighed and lowered his head. "We didnt want to be the ones to tell you but...it had to be told..." he said. Priscilla nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "It's been tough the last two weeks..." she said. "...We thought you and Kinski were dead...and we were going to die next..." Ricochet wrapped his arms around Priscilla as her voice faltered and she began to cry.

"We lost a lot of friends while we were Blor's slaves...all hope seemed lost...but now...you're here...you came back for us..." he finished for Priscilla. Priscilla shifted in Ricochet's arms and wiped her wet eyes. She looked over at the miserable townspeople then up to me. "We need to leave this place, Banshee...we cant go up against Blor...he's too powerful...we need to move on...find another town to settle in...start over..." she said.

Her amber eyes looked over to where the town was located, now mostly a bunch of debris. I looked over to the town as well. The cool breeze ruffled my tattered grey dress and fur as I stared at the town, surrounded by dark clouds. We stood away from the core of the clouds.

I sighed as I turned my head back to Priscilla and Ricochet. I nodded my head. "We'll leave when everyone has calmed down," I informed them. Priscilla and Ricochet nodded their heads silently as they stared at the town that was once their home. Already, I could tell that they were homesick. I glanced over at the townspeople and could see that they were homesick too. I sat down and lowered my head. I was beginning to feel homesick as well; but we couldnt go back.

Blor has won our town...we couldn't fight against him...The only solution was to leave...

...

Later on in the day, I talked to some of the citizens, seeing how they were doing and if they wanted any comfort. Waffles came up to me and hugged my legs tightly. "Thank you, Miss Banshee...fer comin' back fer us..." said the horned toad. I smiled a small smile and hugged Waffles.

Rango came up next and patted my shoulder lightly. I turned to him, just as he nodded his decaying head. He smiled as he blinked his sunken in eyes. I smiled back at the undead sheriff as the rest of the townspeople came around me and hugged me or touched my shoulders.

They were so happy to see me. I turned my head and saw that Stump and Chorizo were standing away from the reunion. They stared down at their feet as they leaned against a boulder. Brim was sitting next to Stump, rubbing her right white wing. I politely left the crowd and walked over to them. Stump noticed me come up. Chorizo continued to hide his face behind his sombraro.

"Hey guys," I said. Stump and Brim smiled small smiles. "Hey, Banshee," said Stump. "Hi, Banshee," said Brim as she got up from her spot. Stump then looked over at Chorizo. He lightly nudged him. Chorizo just nodded his head, but didnt look up. Brim ignored him and stared at me. Sadness was seen in her eyes. "How are you today?" she asked me. I hesitated on the question, then smiled.

"Doing better...how are you guys?" I asked them. Brim and Stump exchanged glances, then back to me. "We're doing allright...how is Kinski?" Stump asked. The smile on my face faded away as I turned my head over to where he was.

I turned back to the rabbits and didnt say anything. They nodded. Understanding. I turned my head to Chorizo. "How are you doing, Chorizo?" I asked him. Chorizo didnt answer. I stared at the shrew. I felt guilty. I knew he saw me getting attention from the town and thanking me for saving them when they were the ones doing the saving.

Without saying anything, I walked up to Chorizo and hugged him. Chorizo lifted his head up in surprise. Stump and Brim's eyes widened a bit. "Thank you, Chorizo. Thank you so much for saving the citizens for us," I said, hugging the shrew tightly. Chorizo's heart pounded loudly in his chest. Chorizo didnt say anything.

With that, I released him and walked over to Stump and hugged him. "Thank you, Stump, I really appreciate it," I said. I could feel Stump's body heat up in embarrassment. He laughed nervously as his body tensed up. "D-dont mention it..." he said smiling.

I released him and stared at the short creatures. Their scruffy faces were red as they averted their eyes from me, shifting from one foot to the next. I smiled a small smile. Brim smiled at me, then touched Stump's shoulder. Stump lifted his head up to her and blushed. I said goodbye to them and walked away.

_Kinski..._

_A while later, Kinski left Stub and Petunia as the townswomen began to surround them and try to comfort them. Kinski knew they would be in better hands with them then him. He didnt really have the ability to comfort anyone...well, thats what he thought; he wasnt sure if he _was_ helping or not. Kinski walked down the hill to where Stump, Chorizo, and Brim were._

_He silently waved to them, then slowly lowered his arm back down. Brim tilted her head in sympathy. "Hi, Kinski...how are you doing?" she asked. Kinski sighed rubbed his sore, wrapped up shoulder. He looked at Stump, then at Chorizo. They stared back at him. Something was up. He found out something. Kinski looked at Stump, then at Brim. "Does she know?" he asked. Stump looked at Kinski confusingly. _

_"Know what?" asked Brim, her wings flapped once, then stopped. Stump stared at Kinski, trying to read his face. Kinski silently lifted his shirt to show a dark gash in his right side. It had stopped bleeding, leaving a hard, dark red blood shell around the gapping wound. _

_"She know abou' our half immortal ability, jes?" he asked. Stump's eyes widened. "...Oh...uh..." Stump's voice faltered as he lowered his head. "Stump? What's wrong? What is it?" Brim asked. Stump hesitated before slowly turning his head to Brim._

_"...Brim..." he started, but then faltered. Brim stared at the short rabbit. "...Stump..." she said. Stump grasped her hands and looked up at her. Brim's eyes were instantly full of tears. Her legs faltered and she fell to her knees. Stump wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. Brim sniffed and wiped her eyes. "...I found out..." said Brim._

_ Stump's eyes widened as if he got smacked in the face. Brim's hands moved up to his scruffy face. Stump closed his eyes._ I wish this never happened...I wish I could go back in time and stop it, _Stump thought in his head_._ He opened his eyes back up. _

_"...We have less then two days to live..." said Stump. Brim's eyes widened and more tears ran down her face. "...No..." she whispered. __Kinski stared at the two, he sadly shook his head. "Ve actually 'ave less zan six hours left..." he said. _

_Stump, Chorizo, and Brim whipped their heads to Kinski in total shock. "What?!" screamed Chorizo in horror and rage. Brim's body shook. "...N-no!" she cried. Stump stared at his hunchback friend in shock. "Wh-who told you...?" he asked. Kinski nodded his head over to the town. _

_"...Blor...he knows of our half immortal ability, and knows ve 'ave less zen six hours to live..." said Kinski. The three stared at the tall hunchback jackrabbit in disbelief. They didnt know what to say. They couldnt believe it...Blor could have been lying...but it didnt matter anyway...they knew they were going to die..._

_It was silent for a minute amongst the four adults. Kinski turned his head to the townspeople who stood a good distance away and out of earshot. In the middle of the group was Banshee. She hugged everyone and talked to people. She smiled a small smile, which made Kinski's heart beat heavily. _

_"What about, Banshee? Does she know about this?" asked Brim. Kinski turned his head to Brim. Brim and Stump stared up at him from the dirt ground. Kinski didnt say anything as his legs began to shake a bit. __Kinski's feet faltered and he sat down on his knees on the ground. He breathed heavily and rested his arms on his hands as he thought of Banshee. He could feel his tired eyes sting as new tears began to form in his eyes. He quickly blinked them away and shook his head. _

_"...S-she...doesnt know...I...cant...I..." Kinski's voice faltered. Brim stared at Kinski. "You need to tell her. She needs to know," said Brim. Kinski shook his head. "I cant...it'll hurt her..." he said. Brim stared at Kinski. It enraged her, but also made her feel bad. Kinski cared for Banshee, but she needed to know before it was too late. _

_Brim staggered up to her feet and walked up to Kinski. She grabbed his arm and lifted him up. Kinski's eyes widened when he felt himself get lifted up to his feet as if he only weighed as much as a feather. He faced Brim. Brim narrowed his eyes up at him. _

_"Banshee needs to know! You cant keep it a secret from her! She's still going to be hurt even if you dont tell her!" Brim shouted at Kinski. Kinski's eyes widened at Brim. Brim bared her teeth. "Either you tell her, or I'll tell her myself!" Brim snapped. With that, Brim began to head toward where Banshee was. "Vait!" said Kinski as he whipped around and grabbed Brim's arm. Brim stopped and turned to Kinski. _

_"...I vant to tell her..." he said as he let go of her arm. Brim stared at Kinski. "Then go tell her," Brim said, motioning for him to go. Kinski hesitated. He stared where Banshee was. After waiting impatiently, Brim took a step toward Banshee's direction. "Vait..." said Kinski and placed his hand on the female immortal's shoulder. Brim turned back to Kinski. _

_"...I vant to tell 'er...but...I vant to tell 'er my vay..." he said. Brim stared at Kinski, trying to read his face. Kinski stared up at her with his huge hazel eyes. Finally, Brim broke away from Kinski's eyes and nodded. With that, Kinski walked past Brim and to the crowd where Banshee was..._

_..._

_"_Banshee...I...I need to talk to you..." he said. I turned to Kinski. "What is it?" I asked him. Kinski hesitated. He looked up at the townspeople through his bangs, then back to me. Then he motioned his hand. "L-let's take a valk, jes?" he asked. I stared up at him before answering.

"Ok," I said. Kinski's tensed up body gradually seemed to relax a bit, and he rubbed his arm nervously. He silently reached down and held my wing. I stared down at his hand that held my wing, then back up at him. He smiled and blushed behind his bangs. I smiled back and squeezed his hand as we walked together, away from the citizens.

Kinski nervously turned his head over to where Brim, Stump and Chorizo were standing. They stared back. Brim smiled at us and waved. We waved back, then kept walking. The cool wind sliced through us, causing our wounds to sting a bit within the wrapped bandages.

I winced in pain and rubbed my wings gently. Kinski stared down at me. He gently ran his bloodstained fingers across my bandages as a sign of sympathy and care.

I began to slow down as I gazed up at the hunchback jackrabbit. Something seemed strange all the sudden; I could smell it in the cold air. Kinski looked over to me with his hazel eyes and he grinned at me that made me laugh and smile. He pulled me closer to him and into a gentle embrace. I wrapped my wings around his waist. His breath rustled my hair, then it stopped as he planted a kiss on my head. I blushed as I stood there. I could hear his heart beating inside his chest.

After a couple minutes, we gradually pulled away from each other. "So...what is it you want to talk to me about?" I asked him. Kinski's smile gradually faded away as he stared down at me. He turned his head out to the desert. A thin light outlined the deep purple mountains in the distance. He turned his head back to me, and let his arm droop over my shoulders.

"I vanted to show you zis," he said as he turned me to face the mountains. It was still dark, but the light from the rising sun was coming up.

"...'ave you ever seen a sunrise before?" he asked me. I shook my head. "Not really...it wouldnt matter anyway..." I said. Kinski gave me a quizzical look, then his eyes widened a bit behind his bangs and he leaned back a bit. "Oh...vright, yer eyes...I almost fergot..." he said in a small voice. I rested my head against his shoulder. Kinski looked down at me, then rested his head against mine.

We stared out at the desert as the suns rays began to crawl up and slowly make its way down the mountain and spread across the desert. I winced from the light, but it was still beautiful. The dark clouds refected off with beautiful colors of light oranges, yellows and blue. I smiled, then quickly looked down at my lap. "It's beautiful," I said. Kinski wrapped his arm around me, pulling him closer to him.

"...Not as beautiful as you..." he said and kissed the top of my head again. I blushed. It was quiet for a while as we sat there, gazing at the wonderful sunrise. It was amazing to watch. It was like the beginning...where everything from yesterday was destroyed, and now the world was starting all over again. Reborn again.

"I vremember vatching sunrises from my vindow vhen I vas at ze orphanage..." Kinski said. I moved my head away and looked up at him. He stared at the sunrise with a small smile on his face. The yellow light lit up is face. "...Vhenever I could...I vould go out and see ze sunvrise...it always seemed to make me feel better..." His eyes gradually left the sunrise and met mine.

"Yer eyes vremind me of a sunrise...it calms me..." his voice faded away as he reached up with his furry bloodstained fingers and brushed my long bangs away from my face so he could see my demon eyes clearly. "...Ze first time I saw you in ze saloon I..." he stopped as he stared at me. I stared back.

Kinski's eyes broke away as he silently looked down at my wings in my lap, then placed his on top of them; then his eyes met mine again. "I...actually felt my heart stop..." he admitted as he did a half laugh and smiled. I smiled back.

"...My heart did too..." I admitted.

He cocked his head a bit, giving him a young innocent like appearance. "Vreally?" he asked me. I blushed and nodded. Kinski looked down at his hand on my wing, but through his bangs I could see him smiling.

I continued to stare at him, blushing like crazy.

The clouds shifted, causing the colors to change. The black rain clouds fought with the bright orange, yellow and pink clouds. It was a war. Light against dark. The colors smeared across the periwinkle blue sky. We stayed quiet for a while, remembering back to when we first met. It almost seemed like it happened in a different time...in a different world...

"What is it that you _really_ wanted to tell me, Kinski?" I asked him. Kinski didnt say anything. "Kinski?" I asked him again. Kinski stared deeply into my eyes. Silently, he carefully leaned down and kissed me on the lips. My eyes widened in shock, but then they gradually fluttered shut and I kissed him back. Kinski's hands slowly moved their way up my wings to the sides of my head and rested. He pulled me closer to him, deepening the kiss.

The kiss was long, it seemed like an eternity, as if we were the only two on the planet. I had my wings wrapped around his waist again. His chest pressed up against mine. Gradually, our heads moved away for air. Kinski's forehead lightly touched mine as he continued to cup my face in his hands. The sun finally came up over the mountains and illuminated us in its' gold light.

"I love you, Banshee...since the very beginning...and I vill love you till..." he paused for a moment. "Till ze end..." he said. I felt tears trickle down my face as I stared back up at him, smiling. Kinski smiled a small sad smile. "Banshee...you...need to know..." he said. "I...I-" suddenly his face changed. His ears seemed to perk up and he turned his head toward the mountains. My ears flicked up and I turned my head toward the mountains too.

Flapping sounds. I winced from the blinding sun. Kinski lifted his arm up to shield his eyes from the sun and strained to see what was coming toward us. A huge black swarm was seen. Kinski lowered his arm. He took a step back, making me take a step back too.

It was the Prairie Dog clan on their bats...and Balthazar was in the lead. He looked angry.


	41. Chapter 41: Worth Fighting For

Kinski and I got to our feet as the bats landed twenty or so feet in front of us. Kinski took a step in front of me. The family of prairie dogs dismounted their bats; but that's not who Kinski was staring at. I looked back up at Kinski. His eyes were narrowed as he watched Balthazar dismount a bat.

Balthazar marched right up to Kinski. Before Kinski could react, Balthazar lifted his walking stick and struck Kinski across his face. "Kinski!" I screamed as Kinski fell backwards and crashed to the ground. I gasped as Balthazar stormed past me to Kinski, grabbed him by the back of his collar, and lifted him up to his wrinkly face. The side of Kinski's mouth was bleeding.

"You idiot!" he shouted in Kinski's face. Kinski winced and stared at the dirty linen bandages around Balthazar's eyes. Balthazar bared his black gums and two rotting teeth. "You think its funny to just leave with half of my bats?! " he shouted. Spit projected out of his mouth and onto Kinski's face. Kinski wiped his wet face and the blood from his mouth with the back of his tattered sleeve and stared up at Balthazar.

"I-" started Kinski. "Shut it!" the blind mole rat shouted. Kinski closed his mouth as he winced in pain. Balthazar raised his walking stick up over his head and was ready to strike him again.

"Stop!" I yelled and approached Balthazar. Balthazar stopped, just as I wrapped my wings around Kinski's neck. Balthazar let go of Kinski's collar. Kinski faltered, but regained his balance. His hands tightened into fists and he bared his teeth.

"Kinski," I whispered with my wings wrapped around him. Automatically, Kinski relaxed his muscles. Stopping him from attacking Balthazar. Instead, he wiped the fresh running blood from his mouth with the back of his sleeve again.

"I didn't steal yer bats-" started Kinski. "I'm not stupid, boy! I wasnt born yesterday!" Balthazar shouted. Kinski and I closed our mouths. Balthazar gripped his walking stick tightly in his hands. "First you come and nearly kill Cykis, then you decide to steal my bats, now you are lying to me and saying that you didnt steal my bats when I can smell their spilt blood right this minute!" he shouted, waving his other arm angrily and pointing toward the direction of the town.

We winced at his words.

Blor's army killed off many of the bats that decided to help us fight against Blor, but of course, it turned into a huge mess. In ways, we did steal his bats without permission, but does it count that they chose to help us?

Balthazar shouted more insults at us. Then he raised his stick over our heads. Kinski stiffened and began to move in front of me, blocking me from being beaten. Balthazar bared his three yellow rotting teeth that were still attached to his black gums.

"You deserve the ticket to hell you low life son of a-" Suddenly, Balthazar stopped. He sniffed the air, thus gradually lowering his stick down. I sighed with relief in my mind, but stared up at the blind mole rat in confusion.

Balthazar's expression changed as he sniffed the air nervously. "...I smell a demon..." He said. Kinski stared up at Balthazar. "Jes...ve 'ave a demon problem..." he said. Balthazar narrowed his eyes as he continued to keep his head up and sniff the air.

"...It's a big one...very powerful..." he said. I nodded. "His name is Blor," I said. Balthazar winced at the name. His hands seemed to shake as they rested on his walking stick, but gradually calmed themselves down. "...You two weren't kiddin' about havin' a demon in yer town..." Balthazar lowered his head and turned his blind eyes toward our direction.

Even though I couldnt see his eyes, I could easily read the emotions on his face. He seemed nervous of the demon...and there was something else. Guilt?

"I...I guess I owe you two an apology..." he said. I stared at him. He really meant it. He really did feel sorry for getting angry at us and banning us from his home. I began to wonder if it was because he was getting old. Being all angry for no apparent reason, and hating everyone...

Balthazar sighed and leaned against his stick. Then he turned his head to us.

"So...what's the strategy?" he asked. Kinski and I exchanged glances. "Vhat?" Kinski asked. Balthazar stopped leaning against his cane. "Dont tell me you two dont have a strategy plan," he said. Kinski took a step forward to Balthazar. "Ve dont plan on attackin.' Ve plan on leavin zis place...ve cant go against Blor and 'is army...zey are immortal now, and too powerful," he said.

The expressions on Balthazar's face chamged. He smirked and seemed to laugh inside his head as if Kinski's words amused him. "That never stopped you guys. That's yer town for Pete's sake! You never gave up on yer town! It was yer place! yer home! No Goddamned demon should stop ya there! Ya need to kick his unholy ass out of yer place! Its not his home! Its yer guys' home!" Balthazar shouted. Kinski and I stood there. Quiet.

Finally, Kinski spoke.

"Zere are barely any citizens left. Zey are too veak to fight...ve dont have an army," Kinski pointed out. Balthazar smirked. "Oh really?" he asked, then turned to his family. The family stared at us, with their weapons pulled out and resting in their arms. Ready to attack.

Balthazar turned his head back to us.

"I have a strategy plan to help yer demon problem," Balthazar said. Balthazar turned to Kinski. "You can take charge of half of the army...they will be amendable to your commands...as long as what ya say makes sense," he added. Kinski frowned, but decided to ignore Balthazars little insult.

"Vhat is yer plan?" the hunchback jackrabbit asked.

"It's simple," said Balthazar. "We attack the source of the cause: Blor."

...

With the strategy plan in our heads Kinski and I walked back to where the town was. We met up with Luminite and Mr. Black. We all stopped. "Heard... something was up... Is everything... all right?" asked Luminite in an exhausted voice as he leaned against his wooden walking stick. He seemed very tired and sick. Mr. Black stood next to him. He turned his head up to him and have him a small glass bottle of clear water from his vest. Luminite thanked him in a low voice and drank the water.

"Balthazar 'as come to 'elp us. He and his family vants to help," explained Kinski. Lumiite leaned a bit more to the right on his walking stick past our heads. Then he turned his focus back to us. His gold flaked eyes seemed dull and colorless. His pure white wings seemed more grey and dropped around his shoulders.

"So... you going...to go...to war again...?" he asked. I nodded. "We are fighting for everyone and everything we have lost," I answered. Luminite nodded. Then shook his head slowly as he began to think. He took another swig of his water. "...I'm...sorry I doubted you mortals...after all you two and the others have done...I feel that no matter what happens...your spirit can never be broken..." he answered. I smiled a small smile to the white wolf as he held his head and leaned against his walking stick.

Mr. Black handed the sick immortal something that looked like a lime green pebble. Luminite accepted it without hesitation and popped it into his mouth. He swallowed it and instantly seemed to have gained some strength back. "Well, better not let the townspeople wait," he answered. With that, we all bagan to walk back to the place where the townspeople were.

As soon as we arrived, we told them the plan. Stump, Chorizo, and Brim wanted to help in the battle, and joined the prairie dogs and bats. After listening to the conversation, Luminite wanted to help, but we told him to rest. He silently stared at us with no expression on his face. He didnt seem angered or distraught. Mr. Black touched his shoulder, breaking him from the weird trance. Mr. Black nodded his head. Luminite nodded. With that, Mr. Black led the white wolf over to a bunch of rocks to sit down on. Luminite didnt say anything as he limped away with Mr. Black and sat down.

After a couple of minutes of listening to the plan, the townspeople exchanged nervous glances to each other then to Rango, who stared at us with concern. "Blor is too powerful, he'll kill you once you show yer face in the town again...please dont do this," he said as he stared at me, then at Kinski. Kinski looked at me, then at Rango. "I'm not givin' up my second chance to some demon," he answered. Rango stared up at Kinski. Kinski nodded his head. "Iz our town...not Blor's...an' ve are gonna git it back fer ya, an' ze Dirtonians..." he answered.

Rango's eyes stared at the hunchack, then to me. I nodded my head. Gradually, Rango sighed and shook his head. His decaying neck cracked in the process. "Hope you win," said Rango with a small sad smile on his face. Kinski smirked. "Ve vill vin," he said.

Suddenly, right when we were about to leave, the town blocked us. Their eyes were filled with tears and sadness. "You dont have to do this," said Waffles. "We can jus' find a new place to live," answered Elgin. The townspeople nodded. Kinski and I stared at their sad faces. Kinski lowered his head a bit, his long bangs fell over his eyes.

Just then, Petunia and Stub made their way through the crowd and stared up at us. Silently, they hugged our legs tightly. Kinski lifted Petunia from his legs and hugged her. The girl cried and wrapped her little arms around his neck. "I dont want to lose another friend..." she cried.

Kinski moved his head and stared at her. He smiled a small sad smile. "You vont...I promise." With that, he lightly kissed the top of her head and placed her back down. He straightened back up and stared back at the sad townspeople. They stared back at him. A cool breeze rustled Kinski's light colored hair that was darkened by the dried up blood.

"Our town iz our home...ve cant give zat up...I vas given a second chance by you people...an' I dont plan on losin' it, or any of you...you are my friends...my family...you are vhat I'm fightin' for..." Kinski said. The townspeople were dead silent as they stared at the hunchback. Kinski turned his head to me. I stared back up at him in amazement.

The town was touched by Kinski's words...and I was too. Petunia and Stub slowly moved away from me and Kinski and back to the citizens. Gradually, the town parted, making a gap so we could go through. Kinski turned back to the town and silently nodded a small thanks. With that, we walked right through the gap, past the townspeople, and back to the prairie dog army and Stump, Chorizo, and Brim.

...

_Dirt..._

_Blor was awaken by the sounds of shouts and curses. Blor slowly lifted his head up. His yellow eyes began to change red in fury as he slithered out of his place and glared at the running soldiers. Before he could yell at them, he felt himself get knocked over. He crashed into the hard packed dirt ground. Dirt flew all around him as his snake body contacted the ground, creating a huge, elongated crater in the ground. _

_Blor hissed angrily and lifted his daxed head out of the hole and looked up to the skies. Prairie dogs were seen riding on bats and were coming straight for him, with gatling guns and weapons. They shouted something and came flying toward Blor. Blor hissed and tried attacking them with his tail. The bats shot past him in a blur. They struck him hard in the face and flew away before he could grab them. _

_Blor roared with anger and crashed against the ground again. Black blood dribbled down his lower lip and along his shaking, coiled up body. Gradually, the blood began to disappear and the open wounds began to slowly heal themselves. Just as they did, more bullets pierced his immortal flesh and caused his immortality abilities to start all over again. _

_Blor roared with rage and began shooting at all the mortal beings flying above him. Suddenly, his gatling gun ran out of ammo. He cursed in anger and glared up at the creatures above him. Brim shot by him in a white streak and ran her daggers deep into his cheek. Blor screamed in pain and snapped his teeth at her, but she was too fast as she flew away. Blor snarled and glared at the swirling army of bats above him. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice through the loud sounds of bullets whistling through the air and hitting their target. _

_Blor turned his cold, yellow eyes over to where the voice was. His eyes found four dark figures. He squinted, then saw who they were. One he sort of recognized from the last battle: Balthazar, sitting on a bat, was yelling at the top of his lungs to the praire dogs and bats. _

_Suddenly, more bullets and weapons pierced through Blor's borrowed body. He was an immortal, but the weapons still hurt like hell. Blor hissed loudly and duck for cover underneath a half destroyed building. Once he was under, he stared straight at the other figure: Kinski, who sat on Banshee's back in her Nightmare form. Next to them stood Stump and Chorizo._

_ Blor narrowed his eyes. As he did, they turned a blood red. Just then, Blor heard a strange sound on top of the half destroyed building. It was a strange hissing noise...times one hundred! Blor gasped, realizing what the sounds were and tried slithering out from under the building-_

_KABOOM!_

_... _

We braced ourselves as the impact from the huge explosion knocked us backwards. Kinski gripped my mane tightly and ducked his head low. I ducked my head as well and turned my head away, but felt myself falter a bit. Closing my eyes shut from the dust and debris, it all came hurtling towards me and slamming against my face and body. Stump and Chorizo hid behind me, using me as a shield from the impact.

Kinski and Balthazar coughed and wheezed from the dust. I shook my huge head. Dust flew everywhere. Stump and Chorizo slowly got on their feet and shook the dust from their hats. Brim landed near them and helped wipe the dust from Stump's vest.

We were all covered in a thick layer of orange colored dust. When the dust gradually settled from the air, we all stared at the ground where the half destroyed, two story building once stood. Now a big crater in the ground, there was nothing left.

"Vhere's Blor?" asked Kinski, coughing some more and brushing the dust off his tattered clothes. Balthazar's eyes narrowed behind his linen bandages as the wind lightly moved his old black hat. He listened for the demon and sniffed the air. Brim stopped brushing Stump and turned her head. Her ears stuck straight up as she listened. Her bright blue eyes were wide as he pale pink nose twitched. We all held our breaths and listened for any slight sound. Suddenly, before we could do anything, Blor rose out from the ground and loomed over us.

His eyes were red with rage and he hissed furiously. Half of his face was gone, revealing a grotesque monster with blood gushing out of a socket and flesh black and charred to nothingness. His body was cut to ribbons and blood dripped down in long red stripes. Kinski, Balthazar, Brim, Stump, Chorizo and I stared up at the demon in the snake body in horror.

Suddenly, Blor's hideous head came down toward us; his fanges were bared. "Go!" screamed Kinski. Balthazar made his bat go to the right while I flew to the left. Brim grabbed Stump and Chorizo and flapped away. Blor's face smashed into the dirt hill we stood on. Blor roared with rage as he shook his head and glared at us as we flew away.

_"Put me down! put me down!" screamed Stump as he stared down at the ground below him in horror. Surpirsed, Brim turned to Stump she held in her arms. "Whats wrong?" she asked. "He's afraid of heights, sinorita," explained Chorizo in her other arm. Brim could feel Stump starting to fidget and tremble in her arms. She flapped her wings and set the two short creatures down. _

_"I'm sorry, I didnt know," she said. Stump crumpled to the ground and pressed his forehead against the ground. His eyes were squeezed shut as he tried calming down. "Its...ok..." he answered. Chorizo watched as Brim rubbed his friend's back gently, calming him down._

Chorizo noticed me watching them and gave me a thumbs up, saying that everything was ok. I nodded and flew through the air with Kinski on my back. Kinski looked over to see if Balthazar was allright too. Balthazar was ok as he sat on the flying bat. Balthazar turned his head toward Kinski's direction.

"Do exactly as we planned!" shouted Balthazar on the other side of Blor to Kinski. Kinski looked up at his group. He silently raised his hand up and signalled to them. The group obeyed and instantly came spireling down and threw lit red sticks of dynamite at the demon possessed snake. Blor whipped his head around wildly as explosions went off around his head. He whipped his head again, and the storm above began to move.

Kinski lowered his head to my ear. "Go down," he told me. I obeyed and landed down on the ground. My wings were burning in pain. I went down on my stomach and layed in the dirt. I watched as Kinski yelled some strange commands Balthazar taught him to his group and watched as they began to lasso the squirming snake down. Chorizo, Brim and Stump moved out of the way and to a safer place. They ran over to us to watch the show.

Balthazar commanded his group to attack Blor as well. Rain came pouring down from above, causing the bats to have problems flying. The lit fuses went out and the lights were snuffed out, making the place almost go completely black. Bullets were still heard through the heavy sheets of rain. The prairie dogs werent going to give up yet as they continued to circle him like vultures.

The ropes tightened around Blor. Blor screamed and thrashed violently as his body was being torn away from the never ending firing of lead.

The soldiers below tried helping their master, but nothing could be done. They ran out of the town and out of sight from the horrific scene. Blor's tail thrashed, taking down three bats in the process. They crashed into the dirt road. A couple ropes loosened, making it easier for Blor to move. Blor whipped his grotesque, half skeleton face to us and lunged.

Brim, Stump, and Chorizo screamed and moved out of the way. I tried moving, but seemed rooted to the ground. Kinski's grip tightened on my mane. "Ahh! Banshee! scream! scream!" he shouted. I screamed as Blor came toward us. Blor's face exploded and was completely gone, but the rest of the body kept moving. I screamed till my lungs ran out of oxygen.

The huge snake body crashed into me. I fell backwards. Kinski fell off of me and rolled into the mud. The heavy, headless snake body pinned me down on my back. I could feel the cold mud rising up around me as I stared at the headless snake in fear.

"Banshee! screamed Brim as she came up to me and tried moving the heavy snake body off me. The huge body whipped its gushing neck to Brim. Brim screamed a high pitch scream as she was soaked in black blood and fell backwards into the mud near Kinski.

The rain pelted down on my face as I watched the head of the snake gradually form back to its original state. Bone fragments and loose flesh grew back like magic around the area where the hea was supossed to be. When the transformation was complete, I found myself staring into Blor's glowing red eyes. His weight pressed down on my stomach, causing me to go deeper into the thick, wet mud.

"Banshee!" screamed Kinski as he tried getting up from the mud. Blor shot Kinski a glare. Instantly, the mud seemed to come to life and wrap around Kinski like a snake and hold him down. "Nooo! no-mpph!" he screamed, but got a mouthful of mud. The mud did the same thing to Brim and held her wings down. Stump and Chorizo rushed to their aid. Kinski and Brim both struggled and fought with the mud, but it was no use.

Blor turned his head back to me in rage.

"_I sshouldve killed you when I decided to use you assss one of my experimentssss,"_ snarled Blor. He raised his head and opened his mouth, revealing a pair of long, needle fangs. _"Well, I guesssss I can do that now,"_ he said, smirking. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself.

Suddenly, instead of hearing me scream in agony, I heard Blor scream. I opened my eyes. Luminite sat on top of Blor, plunging his sword into the top of the snakes whipped his head as light flashed from the sword. Steam hissed out from Blor's head, as if the light itself was like acid to Blor. Luminite was bucked off, and crashed into the mud next to Kinski, Brim, Stump and Chorizo. Luminite became unconscious.

With Blor wounded and unable to concentrate his powers, the mud on Kinski and Brim fell away. Brim, Stump and Chorizo lifted Luminite out of the mud while Kinski fell to his hands in knees in exhaustion. Kinski crawled his way over to me. "B-Ban...ssshee" he moaned weakly and collapsed next to me. I rolled over and wrapped my huge wings around the mud caked rabbit. Brim, Chorizo and Stump carried the unconscious Luminite over to us. Then we all watched as Blor thrashed in agonizing pain with a sword of light in his back.

Just then, a strange thing happened. As Blor continued to scream and coil in agony, his mouth opened very wide. The prairie dogs on their bats stopped attacking him, and landed a good distance away from the wild snake. We watched as the snake screamed and whipped his head around in the air. His mouth opened wider and wider. Through the pounding rain, we watched the most horrible scene in our lives.

Blor's mouth snapped and kept opening wider and wider, till it began to split. The snake's body ripped. Bones and mixed bloods of red and black spewed out of the body as it continued to peel. the body seemed to be splitting apart by an unknown force. The prairie dogs, Kinski and I looked away in disgust and fear. The ends of the place where the mouths were once connected continued downward till it reached the middle and continued toward the tail.

Suddenly, a figure rose out of the splitting body. A tall, dark figure, blacker than black, and radiated pure evil. The figure rose up from the snake body. Over the destroyed town, and up toward the dark rain clouds. A pair of midnight leathery wings sprouted out from the back and stretched out on the sides. A black, tattered shroud of material draped Blors body and seemed to move as if its had a life of its own. Four glowing yellow eyes appeared from an elongated face with multiple twisted horns from its head: Blor.

Blor stared down at us. To him, we were like ants. He stared down at the body of Jake he once possesed and then down at himself. Gradually, a creepy grin full of needle like teeth appeared. The rain gradually began to lighten up a bit and we were able to see him more clearly, though I didnt want to. My legs shook in fear. Everyone stared up at the demonlord in sheer terror.

Blor laughed a cold, evil laugh that shook the ground. He raised his arms up and grinned down at us. _"Pathetic mortalsss! Thought you could sssstop me? It'ssss too late now! I'm invinccible!"_ he roared, causing the ground to shake again and the ground to split. Then he brought his hands down toward the earth. The earth shook so hard, we all fell. The earth below Blor created a huge gap and it kept opening. The gap widened like a huge dark mouth.

Suddenly, millions of glowing yellow eyes appeared in the pitch black fissure, and in a heartbeat, thousands upon thousands of ash colored, horn crowned demons of all shapes and sizes with leathery bat-like wings came errupting out of it and began to spread like a disease all over the mortal dirt ground before us.

Balthazar and a couple other prairie dogs did the cross sign over their hearts and muttered something to the Lord. Kinski wrapped his arms around me in fear. Stump grabbed Brim and held her. Chorizo's eyes were wide and his legs shook in fear. Luminite slipped in and out of consciousness as he stared up at Blor in sadness.

Blor laughed as he waved his hands over his army. Suddenly, dark weapons began to appear in the grinning demon armys' hands'. The weapons. The weapons Blor has forced the townspeople to create. The demon army laughed hysterically and grinned evilly at us. They couldnt wait to try their new toys on us.

Blor grinned down at his new army, then to us. _"Ssssay hello to my new army,"_ he said.


	42. Chapter 42: Painful Loss

As soon as Blor nodded his head to the demon army, the demons screeched a horrible sound; like metal scraping against metal times a thousand, and came sprinting towards us; with weapons of darkness held high over their heads.

"Attack!" yelled Balthazar. Instantly, everyone took to the skies and began shooting the demons and dropping dynamite on them. The demons screeched angrily and used their weapons to take down the bats by thrusting it toward them like spears.

Kinski and I struggled in pain to get away. Brim helped Luminite up and began helping him through the thick, shin high mud. Stump and Chorizo came up right behind Brim and helped.

Five demons noticed us and began to approach. I turned my head to them and screamed. Kinski collapsed next to me and began to jerk and twist. He groaned loudly. I turned my head back to him. _"Kinski?"_ I asked, but came out as a screech.

Kinski's body was covered in mud as he jerked and twisted in pain. Something was wrong with him. I was about to transform back to my original size, when I felt three blades dig deep into my wounded flesh. I screeched, neary causing Kinski's head to explode as I turned back and found the charcoal colored demons surrounding me. They spoke a strange hissing language I could barely understand.

"_Ssssssheee...demon eyessssss...sssssslay? or leave...?" _asked one. Another shook its head as its yellow, black slitted eyes stared at us. _"No...ssssslay...Rabbit...tasssssty..."_ It grinned.

The demons began to try to advance toward Kinski as they licked their lips hungrily. "_Leave him alone!" _I screeched and swatted them away with my massive wings. The demons hissed as they were sent backwards, but more came. They attacked me with their weapons which burned like fire. The pain seemed more painful then I have ever experienced.

I went down in pain. My trembling wings wrapped around Kinski to protect him. Kinski's forehead touched mine. We both stared at the surrounding army of demons before squeezing our eyes shut and bracing ourselves.

Suddenly, loud sounds of gunshots were heard. The demons hissed and screamed in pain as they felt round pieces of lead enter into their systems and fell on their backs. Kinski and I opened our eyes just in time to see Bill appear before us.

"B-Bill?" asked Kinski weakly. Bill turned his head to us.

"Who were ya expecting? The Spirit of the West?" Bill asked with narrowed eyes. My eyes were wide. I didnt know what to say. Bill turned back and continued shooting down the demons. When his gun ran out of bullets, he cursed and chucked it at them and ran over to us. I spanned my bleeding wings out, causing a bunch of demons to fall into the mud. Bill grabbed Kinski roughly by the collar and helped him up. "Le's go," he said as he half dragged, half led Kinski away. I moved ahead of them and became their shield against the demons.

We made our way through the destroyed town and into one of the half destroyed buildings. I squeezed through the doorway and into the room. Bill came in next and carefully placed Kinski down against the wall.

With that, Bill moved away and began blocking off the entrance with pieces of rested his head against the wall and groaned in pain. He bared his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut as he rocked his head side to side. I transformed back to my original size and came up to Kinski. The clothes around me were shredded and hung loosely around me like rags.

The demons screamed their strange language and began to slam their bodies and weapons against the door. Bill growled and continued piling furniture. Kinski looked up at Bill. "Y-You...came..." he said. I looked up as well and stared up at Bill.

Bill didnt look at his old friend as he continued to barricade the door. He knew he was already ruining his reputation. He went against his way and saved our lives. Bill bared his teeth a bit "Blor's a bloody ass he is," muttered Bill. Kinski couldnt help but smirk at Bill's remark. I smiled a small smile. "Thank you, Bill," I said. Bill ignored me and Kinski as he shoved the last piece of furniture in the house and took a step back.

He stared at the pile of broken furniture that piled all the way to the top and covered the door. Loud sounds came from behind it, but the door wouldnt give in. Bill sighed and rested his hands on his knees. "Bloody demons," he muttered.

Kinski groaned again and gripped my wing. Bill turned his head to Kinski and stared down at him. "You ok, boy?" he asked. Kinski gradually shook his head as he bared his teeth. Suddenly, Bill groaned in pain and doubled over. He fell to his knees and groaned in pain. I turned my head to him.

"Bill? Whats wrong?" I asked. Bill gritted his teeth and looked over to Kinski. Kinski opened one eye to him. They exchanged a long glance before looking away.

"Is... nothin' to worry about... Banshee," Bill finally answered. I blinked. I have never heard him say my name before. Before I could say anything, a loud crash was heard. Furniture came down and near us. I moved away from the pile of furniture and wrapped my wings around Kinski's neck. Bill cursed as he struggled to get up and began piling the furniture again. "There's too many of them. We need ta leave," said Bill.

"Where?" I asked.

Bill turned his head and looked around the room that we were in. It was small, and the walls had cracks running along them. A door, slightly ajar, was on the other side of the room. A way out. The Gila Monster pointed to the door. "There. Take Kinski wit' ya-" suddenly, another crash, and the furniture fell again.

"_...Hungry...for...mortal...flessshh..." _I heard a demon say.

Bill turned his head back to me. "...I'll hold 'em off," he finished. I hesitated. I couldnt leave Bill. He just saved our lives. "B-Bill-" I started. Suddenly. All the furniture crashed and splintered around us. A dark blade was seen breaking through the wood. Bill quickly ran over to the door and slammed his shoulder against the door to keep it from opening.

"Go!" snarled Bill impatiently. I felt Kinski touch my wing. I finally snapped out of my frozen state and helped Kinski up. Kinski clutched his stomach as he held on to me. I half dragged, half carried him to the door. I looked back one last time over to Bill. Bill was using both hands to keep the demons from entering.

"Banshee..." groaned Kinski weakly. I turned back and opened the door. Then we both walked out...

...

_Bill turned his head over to the door. Banshee and Kinski were gone. He turned back to the door as the demons continued to push through. Bill cursed under his breath and finally gave in. He moved away from the door and bolted. The door exploded and the demons poured into the room. They hissed and growled as they carried their weapons. _

_Bill ran through the house. He ran through a bedroom, then a living room before opening a door and entering into the workshop. Mr. Black's workshop. The house was once Mr. Black's house. Bill staggered about in the workshop, chucking bottles of dead creatures inside and running his arm across the shelves and making the science instruments crash to the floor as he searched impatiently. _

_"Where is it? Where is the bloody thing?" he muttered under his breath as he searched the bottles on the desk. He stopped when he heard footsteps. He turned his head and noticed the demons at the foot of the doorway. They sniffed the air and growled at him. Their yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. _

_"Bill..." one of them hissed. The others hissed Bill's name as well. Bill stared at them, then he bared his teeth. "If yer wonderin' where that female bat and bloody hunchback went, they went that way, possbly along the outer side of the town..." Bill clutched his stomach and groaned in pain. _

_"N-now...if ya...demons dont...mind...I have...a box...of vials...to find..." he gasped between breaths. __Blood seeped out of his mouth and dripped onto the wooden floor. _

_The demons stared at Bill, then muttered in their own language. Bill collapsed to his knees. He breathed heavily and coughed loudly as he slowly began to die. After a couple minutes of silence and horrible pains, Bill looked up at the demons. They were still staring at him. Bill glared at them angrily. _

___"If ya want to kill me, do it now! you'll be doing me a favor!" he snarled. The demons didnt answer, or make a move. _After a couple minutes, the one in front took command and thrusted his charcoal colored arm out and gave an order. With that, the demons scurried off to go after Banshee and Kinski. Bill watched the demons leave till they were gone from his sight. 

_Bill's vision began to go blurry. He groaned even more in pain. He slowly staggered up and to his feet. He placed his free hand on the wooden desk for support as he scanned the workshop. His eyes landed on an old trunk under a pile of old, yellow papers. He staggered over to it and collapsed in front of it. He wheezed and coughed up more blood as he fumbled with the huge lock. He grabbed a nearby shovel and used all his strength to break it. _

_The lock broke and clanged loudly against the ground. Bill lifted the trunk and peered inside. Inside were a bunch of bottles and papers. Bill grabbed a bottle and chucked it over his shoulder. It crashed against the work bench behind him. _

_He continued to chuck glass bottles behind him and tossed the papers over his head till he stopped to take a break. He was losing a lot of energy fast. He coughed some more and threw up more blood and what looked like part of an organ. __Panicking, he continued to search. _

_Finally, he found what he was looking for. A small wooden chest laid at the bottom of the trunk. Bill carefully lifted out by the sides with his claws and laid the small box in front of him. In the dim light, he felt the edges of the box and opened the lid. The darkness around him lit up in a greenish glow from the five vials. Bill's dull, weak eyes widened and he grinned. _

_He used his claws and pulled a vial out. It broke. Bill cursed and watched as the glowing green liquid dripped from his hand. He grabbed another one, careful this time. He uncorked it and poured the drink down his throat without hesitation. _

_Instantly, the pains all over his body went away. Bill sighed with relief and stopped clutching his stomach. He grinned and stared at the empty vial in his claws. He was so close to dying, but he didnt. He dodged death once again. Bill grinned. Blor wasnt a total ass, since he told Bill about the hidden vials in Mr. Black's workshop. Bill stopped grinning when he looked down at the three remaining green vials. _

_Hesitant. _

_Should he take them? or leave them? They could be worth some money. Bill thought of Stump, Kinski and Chorizo; going through the same pains as he was a few moments ago. He shook his head. No, they weren't his friends. They were traitors. A bunch of traitors...then again...they were his gang...his boys. He has had multiple gangs before them...but he actually liked Stump, Chorizo and Kinski. They were the best henchmen-_

_Bill growled and slammed the box shut. He picked it up and began to leave with it._ 'Screw them. They deserve it for goin' over to the bloody good side,' _thought Bill bitterly._ _He was about to go outside when he stopped. He could hear the war going on outside. If he went outside, they might see him with the box and take it from him. Bill stared down at the box. _

_Suddenly, the Gila Monster heard something outside the workshop. Footsteps. Bill's heart skipped a beat. His hands shook as it held the box. He needed to get out of the shop, fast! _

_Hell with it, he could just leave the box, wait till the war was over and everyone was dead, then get the box again from the shop...Bill quickly turned back, placed the box back in the trunk, and piled the papers and broken glass over the box. He closed the lid and got up to his feet. With one mighty kick, the trunk slid across the ground and under a tall chest full of drawers. Then, he bolted out of the shop...and out of town._

...

It began to sprinkle as we made our way along the outside of the town along the shadows of the buildings. Loud explosions went off around Main street as we walked past it. Kinski coughed up blood and fell from my wings. I fell to my knees next to him. Kinski trembled as he doubled over and wrapped his arms around his stomach.

I rubbed his deformity. "Kinski? Are you ok? Please tell me," I asked him. Kinski wouldnt answer me as he continued to cough and shake uncontrollably. He shook his head slowly and placed his hand over his mouth, which instantly was soaked in his own blood. I began to panic. Something wasnt right. He seemed to be dying.

Kinski gradually stopped coughing up blood and turned his head up to me. His torso and mouth were wet in his dark blood. His hazel eyes were wide in fear behind his dark, wet bangs. "B-Banshee..." he whimpered. Tears came down my face as I stared back at him. I was scared too.

Suddenly, the thick, black clouds above began to shift. Lightning and thunder errupted loudly over our heads. My ears went back in fear and I flinched everytime the loud roars of the thunder went off. The rain came down in a drizzle. Kinski wrapped his limp arms around me as the cold winds began to pick up.

He buried his head into my shoulder and trembled. I held him close to me tightly. My wet eyes stared straight ahead the way we came from the building. Lightning flashed. Just as it came, it left, and in that split second, a whole mob of horned demons appeared from the building we came out of.

My eyes widened in horror and I stopped hugging Kinski. "Demons," I said as I helped Kinski up to his feet. Kinski turned his head over his shoulder. He flinched when he saw them and turned back to me. I wrapped my wing around him and we briskly walked away. The demons hissed and I could feel them gaining on us.

...

_Brim, Stump, and Chorizo struggled to keep Luminite's head from drooping into the mud as they slowly made their way up the muddy hill. Their fur was soaked from head to foot and their faces were cold from the bitter winds. They kept their heads down and continued trudging on, carrying the exhausted white wolf. _

_Brim let out a small scream when she felt herself slip and fall. Her mud stained wings flapped against her back. "Brim!" Stump cried. Stump tried reaching out for her, but instantly felt a huge jolt of pain run through his body, causing him to scream and double over. His hat fell off in the process, revealing his dark, curly matted hair. Brim fell into the mud, causing Luminite to fall as well. _

_She quickly regained herself and got up. She looked over, just as Chorizo was trying to help Stump up. "Stump? amigo, what's-?" __Suddenly, Chorizo felt a huge jolt of pain as if his organs were on fire. He screamed, rearing back, then doubling over and falling into the mud. His hat fell off too and was lost to the mud. His matted, short black hair was revealed and began to soak in his own blood. Brim gasped at the sight of the two. _

_"S-Stump? Chorizo? What's going on?" she asked as she went down on her knees next to them. The two short creatures didnt answer as they began to cough up blood at an alarming rate. Brim began to panic. "No! No! Noo!" she screamed in horror. _

_Before she could do anything, she heard Luminite groan behind her. She turned, just as a group of demons came toward her and raised their weapons high over their heads for an attack. Brim whipped out her blades and stopped the blades from touching her. As she did, she got up and slashed the demons in the stomachs. The blade left a bright, thin streak of light on the demons cold, black stomachs. The demons screached in pain and exploded in black swirling clouds of darkness. _

_Brim continued to fight the demons, keeping them away from her friends. Brim's arms were already starting to hurt, and she was breathing heavily. She was getting tired faster, but she couldnt let the demons harm Luminite, or Chorizo...or Stump. _

_Brim quickly looked at the corner of her eye to see how Stump was doing. Stump was covered in mud as the rain continued to pour down on the creatures. His eyes were squeezed shut and was gritting his teeth. Chorizo was next to him, having the same pains and was vomiting blood and was starting to look pale. _

_They were slowly dying..._

_Brim turned back, just as a demon was about to slice her throat. She pushed it back and stabbed it in the chest. The demon screamed, and blew up in a twisting black cloud, then vanished. As Brim continued to fight the group of demons in her section, the priairie dogs continued to fight the demons in the town, but were unable to kill them because of the lack of special Immortal weapons of light. Blor simply loomed over the war and grinned mischivously..._

_Brim felt herself fall again from the mud and fell to her knees. The demon who was fighting her, grinned, and continued to fight her. Brim was exhausted from fighting and was about to give in. Her breathing was loud and her wings were drooping around her. Her blades were flicked out of her hands and off in different directions and lost in the mud. Brim's muddy ears drooped down against her head. She lowered her arms and hung her head in defeat. _

_Stump slowly lifted his head from where he lay and stared over at where Brim was. Brim was on her knees, and a demon loomed over her with a weapon of darkness in its hands. Stumps eyes widened. "N-no!" he screamed as he struggled to get up. He ignored the excrutiating pains inside him as he staggered up and made his way to Brim. _

_Brim could hear the humming energy in the weapon. It was strong, and full of evil. She felt her insides turn. She knew this was going to be it. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact. The demon grinned as it pulled the dark weapon back. The demon screeched something in its' own language and thrust the blade at lightning speed toward Brim's stomach. _

_Brim winced. Nothing. Instead of feeling pain, she felt a body collapse against her. She opened her eyes and saw Stump pressing his back up against her. He groaned loudly in pain. The dark blade was seen piercing deep into his stomach. Brim gasped in horror and wrapped her arms around Stump. "Oh my gosh! S-Stump!" she choked out. Stump gripped the handle of the blade, but wouldnt pull it out. Brim tried pulling it out, but Stump wouldnt let her. _

_"N-no...no...it'll only hurt more..." he said as blood gushed out of his round stomach. Brim began to breathe heavily in a panic state. "I-I have to heal you-" "No...it doesnt...matter...anyway..." said Stump. Brim felt tears come don her eyes as she stared down at the short dying rabbit in her arms. She had never cried since her old lover, Neo died..._

_"No...dont die...d-dont leave..." Brim cried. Stump gradually lifted his head and looked up at Brim. He smiled weakly. "...I will... never leave you...I...will...always...be...there...for you...I love...you, Brim..." he answered between breaths. Brim stared down at him. Her eyes widened a bit. Her tears dripped down onto his face. Brim smoothed his bangs away from his face upward to her as his head rested against her chest. _

_Gradually, she leaned down and kissed the top of his head, then leaned further and kissed him upside down on the lips. Stump continued to smile. "I...will never...leave...you..." he said. Then his groaned one last time. His dull eyes rolled to the back of his head and he went limp. Brim cried in the mud. A couple feet from her, Chorizo was dead; Luminite was near her, unconscious and not moving..._

_..._

The rain seemed to come down harder and harder as we continued to walk away. I forced Kinski to quickly turn left toward the battle. Most of the prairie dogs didnt have bats to ride and decided to atack on the ground where the demons were.

Our legs were sinking more into the mud. We manuvered our way through the main core of the battle. Explosions went on around us and mud errupted on top of us, but we continued forward. Bats crashed near us and were on fire. Thankfully the rain was coming down hard so it took out the fire.

Just then I noticed something flapping in the heat of the war. It was a huge flag flapping in the rain. It was held high up over the prairie dogs and demons' heads on a long stick. It was my symbol, drawn hopefully in red cactus fruit juice on a huge white tattered table cloth. It flapped and whipped around in the howling winds and pelting rain. I stared at it as I moved. It was a huge relief to see my symbol up in the air again. It gave me a somewhat good, hopeful feeling inside.

Ironically, the group of demons who were after us couldnt seem to keep up and we lost them in the battle. I felt the weight lift from my shoulders and I began to slow down. Suddenly, Kinski couldnt take it anymore and collapsed in front of me, causing me to fall. I fell forward into the thick, wet mud. I quickly got up and tried helping Kinski up. My ears were deaf from the loud sounds of metal clanging against metal and the loads of dynamite going off continuously.

Kinski rolled up into a ball and continued to cough and wheeze. I wrapped my wings around him and began to cry. "K-Kinski..." I choked out. He was dying. My nightmare was right. It had to be. Why would he be acting like this? I wished I knew sooner...why couldnt I believe in myself? Why didnt Kinski tell me?

I felt tears come out of my eyes as I forced his muddy head up to mine. Kinski's eyes slowly fluttered open, "I...I-I'm...s-so...sorry...B-Banshee..." he said as blood dribbled out of his mouth. I held his head in my wings. "Why didnt you tell me?" I choked out. Kinski blinked a slow blink. "I...didnt vant...you to...vorry..." he said. It was exactly like the nightmare...the prophecy...word for word...

He was slipping from my wings. His eyes were beginning to twitch and roll upward like he couldnt stay alive much longer.

"No...No! P-Please don't leave m-me," I cried, more tears came down. Kinski looked at me with sadness. "I...can't promise...you..zat-" "No!" I screamed, interrupting him. Kinski stared up at me with his dull eyes. They were beginning to turn a dead grey. His face was becoming pale and his eyes seemed more sunken in and dark. Kinski lifted a shaking left hand up and rested it against the side of my face. I pressed my right wing against it and cried harder. Kinski smiled a small, sad, weak smile.

I...I'm...sorry...z-zis had to happen..." he said in his weak German accent. "Zere...is nozing...to do...B-Banshee..." he said as he pulled my head closer to his. I pressed my forehead against his, squeezed my eyes shut and cried harder. Kinski gave me a small kiss on the lips. In his last breath, he whispered, "...I...love... you..." Kinski closed his eyes. His head went back and his arms went limp... and he was gone.

My eyes widened and I lifted my head from his. "Kinski! Kinski! No! No! No!" I screamed and shook the limp hunchback jackrabbit. Kinski didnt move. He was gone...forever. I bawled so much, I couldnt breathe right. The rain poured down on top of me and Kinski's body. The rain mixed with my puddles of tears as the battle continued to go on around me...

* * *

**This chapter was so hard to write. I felt my throat tighten and tears come to my eyes as I killed off Stump, then Chorizo, and then Kinski. I felt so horrible. I dont think I'll ever have a good nights sleep ever again...well, I cant sleep well anyway so...I'll never sleep again...:( **

**Hope you enjoy. Just one more week of skool and I'm free! I cant wait! I am so done with school. Hope you guys are free and are having an awesome summer. :) **


	43. Chapter 43: Eternal

I didn't care about the war that surrounded me as I held Kinski's dead body close, hoping that he would somehow come back to me. Loud clanging noises deafened my ears. Gunshots went off. I no longer cared if I got shot or stabbed...I no longer feared death. I squeezed my wet eyes shut and cried into Kinski's bloody shirt. Above, the bats flew around and dropped dynamite on the demons below.

Suddenly, I heard a demon close to me scream in pain and a nauseous series of a spine snapping in two before the high pitch screaming ceased. I looked up when I felt something nudge me roughly in the shoulder. It was Soltus. He loomed over me, somewhat shielding me and Kinski's body from the battle. He was breathing heavily and had a bunch of fresh wounds decorating his body. His dark colored fur was matted and some patches of skin were visible. A slash mark ran down across his right eye and dried blood was around it.

"_You need to get out of here. You'll get killed if you sit here..." _Soltus's words faded away as his eyes flickered down to Kinski's body.

I couldn't read his face, but he seemed shocked to see that Kinski was dead. The huge bat looked back up at me and noticed the tears in my eyes. Before he could do anything, he winced in pain when a demon stabbed him with its' weapon.

Soltus screeched in anger as he whipped around and crushed the demons skull before the demon could scream. I looked away as I held Kinski close to me. Soltus turned back. The front part of his body was black with demon blood. He shook some of the demon blood off before turning his focus back to me.

"_You...need to...go..." _he said firmly as he spat his own blood out of his mouth. I felt the rain drops smack against my face and sting my eyes as I stared up at the huge bat. His dark red eyes seemed to glow in the dark storm. Suddenly a loud clap of thunder boomed and lightning struck, lighting up the battlefield. Blor laughed above and started to grab for the bats and prairie dogs.

Soltus didn't hesitate as he nudged me up onto his back and took off. Blor noticed us and grabbed Soltus right out of the air. Blor's huge, cold, black fingers tightened around us, cutting off our circulation. Soltus and I screeched and tried breaking free from Blor's grasp, but it was no use. Blor laughed coldly at us. Lightning cracked behind him and the rain came down in sheets. Blor lifted his other hand and pulled Soltus away from me.

Soltus screeched and flapped his wings, but Blor's fingers tightened around him and in one final squeeze, Soltus's body went limp in Blor's huge hand. I tried to scream, but I couldn't. Blor laughed and released Soltus's body. Soltus fell from Blor's hand and crashed back down to the muddy earth. Blor turned his huge head to me. He grinned, revealing a set of sharp, needle like teeth; his forked tongue flicked in and out.

Tears and rain ran down my face as I stared up at Blor's four yellow eyes. The black slits were thick and stared deep into my dying soul. I squirmed in his huge hand, but I couldn't move. I was exhausted. Blor grinned even more. "_You ssssee, Anera? You lossssse. It's over...Too bad you wont be here to ssssssee me kill off your other friendsss...Goodbye...Anera," _Blor said as he opened his mouth, revealing a huge gapping hole of nothing. I stared into the empty black hole of darkness with no fear. I no longer feared death...I was going to die...the battle was Blor's...he had won-

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard, stopping Blor from swallowing me whole. He closed his mouth. Blor's expression changed and he turned his head up to the dark clouds that infested the sky. The rain gradually ended, and a small shaft of light broke through the dark clouds. One by one, more and more shafts of light broke through. Blor's four thick slitted eyes went thin in horror.

"_Nooo..." _he muttered, barely a whisper. His hand loosened around me. Gradually, his fingers opened up and I was able to escape. Air went back into my lungs as I fell back down to the ground. Mud welcomed me and I was engulfed in it.

I coughed and spat out the mud and opened my eyes, as I did, I spotted Kinski's body just a couple feet from me. I felt my throat tighten up as I pathetically made my way through the heavy mud to him. I wrapped my wings around his body and sat there, crying. I didn't want to leave him, ever...

Above, the shafts of light came down like a soft beam of pure light...

...

_Blor staggered backwards as he stared up at the blinding beam of light in horror. He growled, baring his teeth as he winced. His black slits went thin from the pure hatred of the light. Blor's dark leathery wings unfolded around him, like a shield._

_The prairie dogs, bats and demons stopped fighting and stared up to the clouds. Balthazar took off his hat as he stared up at the beautiful light as it poured down. He smiled a small smile. The prairie dogs and bats smiled a small smile up at the beam too. It was as if heaven was finally breaking free from the dark barriers of evil to them. The charcoal colored demons hissed and took a step back from the light in fear and anger. They winced their eyes and the black slits in their eyes went small and thin like Blor's._

_The townspeople of Dirt noticed the light and stared up at it from where they stood. Rango held Beans tightly to his decaying body as the two lizards both stared up at the beam in awe. Stub held his younger sister, Petunia in his arms as they too stared up at the beam of light. They didn't know whether to fear it, or stare at it in amazement._

_Waffles grinned at the light and jumped for joy. Wounded Bird, Ambrose, and Mr. Furgus smiled up to the parted dark clouds. Ricochet held Priscilla's hand tightly and smiled. The other townspeople gradually seemed to relax and realize what the light was. Their prayers have been answered. A miracle has come to help in their time of need._

_Up on the muddy hill, Brim and Luminite lifted their heads up and stared in surprise at the light. Luminite was breathing heavily and his face was covered in mud. "...Th-they've...come..." he finally breathed out, barely a whisper. Brim flickered her bright blue, wet eyes over to Luminite as she held a dead Stump in her arms, then back to the light._

_Suddenly, white, winged creatures with shiny silver armor came flying down by the thousands. The Immortals. They flapped their huge feathery wings from the parted clouds and made their way down with the beam of light to the muddy earth. Even when they moved away from the light, they glowed a brilliant white glow. The demons hissed and gripped their dark weapons in their hands._

_The Immortals stared down at the interrupted battle that was splayed out below them and pulled out their shiny, silvery weapons of light. In a heartbeat, the Immortal army flew over the battlefield and began fighting the demons. The demons screamed and blew up into a angry twisting cloud of smoke._

_Blor glared at the Immortal army and roared a spine twisting, blood curdling roar. The demons took it as a command and began to attack the Immortals. The demons raised their weapons and slashed the Immortals. The weapons glowed a dark color as the blades made contact with the Immortals' bodies._

_Two Immortals screamed in pain and blew up in a twisting cloud of white smoke and white feathers. More clouds of smoke, black and white exploded all throughout the huge area of Immortals and demons. Immortals and demons flew up to the skies and battled above, while others remained below._

_Immortals crashed through more buildings and demons' bodies scraped against the ground, enough to create friction and combust fire. The ignited demon ran through the war, lighting Immortals wings on fire. Immortals called upon their limited powers to their weapons and shot beams of light to the demons, instantly vaporizing them._

_The loud clanging of powerful weapons echoed through everyone's ears for miles. Loud bitter snaps and explosions. The mortal army of the prairie dogs and bats who remained knew that this war was now out of control and out of their league. Balthazar waved his arm and the remaining mortal army began to retreat._

...

I shook all over and my face was soaking wet as I cried. I ignored the voice that called my name as it came closer and closer. "Banshee? Banshee, come on, we need to leave," said Balthazar as he blindly made his way to me. I felt his hand touched the top of my head, but I didn't move from my spot. "Banshee?" asked Balthazar. I didn't say anything. Balthazar sniffed the air. He stopped when he realized what was going on and took a step backwards. "...Oh..." was all that he could say.

Balthazar turned his head, just as two prairie dogs on their bats landed behind him. "Pappy, what's-?" asked Ezekiel, but stopped when he noticed me bawling over Kinski's dead body. The two brothers exchanged sad glances. Balthazar turned fully toward their direction. "Ezekiel, Jedidiah, please take Miss Banshee to safety, and give 'er to one of the town folk," he ordered.

The two brothers nodded and came toward me. I screamed and thrashed as they pulled me away from Kinski. "Noooo! No!" I screamed. Jedidiah loosened his grip on me in surprise, then grabbed my shoulders again. "Nooo!" I screamed and kicked. Ezekiel gently lifted Kinski's upper torso. I cried and tried reaching for the dead rabbit. Suddenly, a demon crashed into Jedidiah, thus dropping me. Ezekiel yelped in fear when five demons came toward him followed after a couple Immortals.

The old blind mole rat and two prairie dogs didn't want to risk their lives and took off on their bats. I hugged Kinski's body tightly as the war continued around me. Suddenly, I noticed a white rabbit with wings move in front of me. At first I thought it was Brim, but this rabbit was bigger, and its' hair didn't have a braid down the middle. It was a male rabbit.

The rabbit moved through the air with skill as it took down the demons surrounding me. All the demons around me exploded in twisting black clouds and vanished into thin air. My wet eyes widened in surprise as I stared up at my savior. The male rabbit turned and stared down at me. His eyes were a silvery color, and his short hair was platinum blonde. He sheathed his sword and turned to fully face me.

He stared at me, then at Kinski. I couldn't read his expression. Silently, he lifted his hand over me and concentrated. I watched as a gold current began to swirl around me and Kinski. Suddenly, the scene around me began to fade and dissolve. The white rabbit continued to stare down at me, then he was gone. I blinked and the gold current around me vanished and I found myself in a new area. I turned my head and found myself outside of the town, and just a couple feet from Brim and Luminite.

I gasped when I noticed Brim with her arms around Stump. He wasn't moving. Next to me I found Chorizo; he also wasn't moving. Luminite stared at me with tired eyes. He didn't seem surprised to see me suddenly in front of him. "...Banshee..." Luminite said. I blinked my wet eyes over to him, then back to Kinski, and rested my head on his. Luminite sighed sadly and lowered his head, then over to the Immortal and Demon war going on in the place where a town used to be...

...

_Blor glared down at the Immortal army before him. A couple groups came together and used their weapons and attacked him. Blor roared and slashed the Immortals out of the sky. He brought his hands together and conjured up a hurricane and spread his arms out to the Immortals attacking him._

_The Immortals were pulled into the force and then were hurled upward into the clouds. Blor moved his hands and rain came pouring down. The beam of light fought against the dark clouds. Opening and widening even more. Blor roared in frustration and tried using all his strength and energy in defeating the Immortals._

_"You'll never ssssstop me! I'm the ruler of thissss pathetic world! I am Blor! the Demon lord!" Blor screamed, thus causing the lightning and thunder to go off behind him. A huge tsunami wave came from behind him and through the battle. Most of the Immortals and demons noticed the wave coming and took off. Others weren't so lucky and were swept away with the great deluge. _

_Blor loomed over the vast muddy, mortal earth before him and grinned evilly. He threw his head back and laughed with his arms out on the sides. His leathery wings spread out next to him. He has won. He was the ruler of a planet. An invincible, powerful demon from hell. No one could stop him...no one-_

_Bang!_

_Blor stopped laughing when he heard a loud gunshot and a strange feeling in his stomach. Blor looked down and noticed a gapping hole in his stomach. The inner ring of the hole suddenly began to burn brightly and hurt like fire. Blor growled and turned his head to the source. Blor gasped in horror. "_

_You..." he said in shock. _

_Jake stood behind him with his gatling gun aimed toward Blor's stomach. Jake's eyes were glowing like fire. Jake sneered, revealing his sharp fangs. Blor narrowed his eyes. "I thought I killed you..." snarled Blor. Jake just shook his head. Blor's mouth flickered a faint smirk. "No matter...I'll jusssst kill you where you ssssstand," said Blor. With that, Blor twisted around and lunged toward Jake. Jake moved out of the way. He aimed his gun and fired again._

_The bullet came out in a blinding bright light and made contact with Blor's back. Blor screamed in pain and reared upward. The bullet of light burned through Blor's body of darkness and out the other end. Blor heaved and panted heavily as he stared down at the two gapping holes in his stomach. He tried healing himself back, but it wouldn't work. Blor twisted his head to Jake in anger._

_"What issss thisss?!" he screamed. Jake didn't answer as he continued to shoot the demon lord. Blor screamed again and writhed in agony. Blor flapped his huge wings wildly and lunged toward the rattlesnake again. This time, he grabbed Jake and punctured his claws into his body. Jake's blood poured out from the holes, but instead of seeing scarlet blood, it was bright white blood._

_Blor screamed and released Jake and stared down at his claws in horror. The white blood burned a thousand times worse than acid and began to eat away at Blor's claw tips. Blor screamed, shaking the earth. Jake stared down at his body as it began to heal itself back up. Jake lifted his head back up to the demon from under his black hat. He smirked, then lunged himself at Blor. Blor wasn't ready for Jake's attack and felt himself falling._

_Blor collapsed on top of the remains of Mr. Blacks workshop. Millions of papers went flying and the sound of glass being shattered was heard. Blor screamed in agony as Jake raised his gun and continued to shoot him. The bullets dug through Blor and the inner rings from the bullet holes began to eat away at Blor from the inside, out. Blor continued to scream and roar in eternal pain. He flapped his wings and slashed at Jake. Jake felt the claws rip through him and staggered off of Blor. He winced, but the wounds gradually healed themselves back up._

_Blor got up and to his feet. Heaving and trembling in exhaustion, Blor lifted his arms to the skies and thrusted them to Jake. Instantly, the clouds began to shift and then a huge lightning bolt came down and zapped Jake. Jake stood there, gritting his teeth from the impact of the lightning as the tremendous shock ran through his system. Rattling his bones and twisting his organs. The heat was unbearable. Then, the lightning bolt disappeared. Blor blinked and stared at the rattlesnake, that still remained where he stood._

_Jake stared down at himself, then to Blor. He was breathing heavily, but he was still all intact. "My turn," muttered Jake. With that, he aimed his tail gun to Blor. Suddenly, Jake's eyes went bright and he began to glow. A huge ball of light erupted out of his gatling gun and toward Blor. Blor felt the huge impact from the ball of light and was forced backwards and crashed to the ground. The impact drove Blor down into the earth. Blor screamed and struggled as he was forced further and further across the surface of the earth._

_Jake followed after Blor, trailing along with the huge, eighty foot long deep scar that Blor had created. Blor laid in the deep crater at the end. The holes in his body were continuing to eat away at his ash colored flesh and shrouds. Smoke trails slowly snaked up from Blor's huge body as he laid there in the deep mortal earth, weakening._

_Blor's body shook all over as he noticed Jake coming toward him. His huge body flickered from the draining power as he slowly got up. He bared his needle like teeth as he loomed over the rattlesnake._

_"...I...wont...let you...defeat me...the prophecy...will...change..." said Blor. Jake stared firmly at Blor. "The prophecy can't change...and will never change...you will be defeated...and there is nothing you can do...You lose..."_

_With one final hiss Jake opened his mouth and bared his fangs. At lightning speed, he wrapped his body around the demon lord. "NOOOOOO!" screamed Blor as he twisted and jerked in Jake's grasp. Jake continued to wrap around Blor and began to tighten. Blor staggered and thrashed wildly as he tried to get the snake off of him but Jake wouldn't let go. _

_Jake squeezed tighter and tighter. Blor felt his body flickering and weakening by the second. Black blood gushed out of him and he screamed and shook his head violently. Jake continued to squeeze his enemy. Then, he decided to finish the demon off. Jake opened his mouth. His fangs jutted out and he punctured his fangs deep into Blor's shoulder. Blor screamed so loud, it was like an atomic bomb, knocking everything on the mortal earth to the ground and levelling everything. Jake's poison was bright as it was injected into Blor's system and through his black veins. _

_Jake squeezed Blor more and injected more of his bright poison into the demon. Blor screamed and screamed, deep cracks webbed out from Blor's feet and ran along the dried earth and began to spit open into darkness. Finally, Blor exploded into a huge cloud and ash. Jake was knocked backwards from the impact. The huge black explosion erupted and spread out. _

_The black cloud drifted and moved through the air tll it finally was sucked into the huge cracks in the ground. Tattered bits of black fabric and ash fluttered from the sky. The demons from the destroyed town exploded in black clouds and drifted into the cracks. The dark weapons clattered to the ground and went up in a burst of black and purple flames and disappeared into thin air. _

_After all the black currents of the demons were all sucked into the cracks, the cracks closed back up and everything was silent. The Immortals lowered their immortal weapons and stared where the demons once stood. Their eyes gradually met Jake's eyes as he came back from where he defeated Blor. Their eyes showed no emotion of fear. Jake stared down at the Immortals and nodded his head. "Blor is defeated," he said. They nodded back. "Thank you, Jacob...thank you for siding with us," said the white rabbit. Jake nodded. With that, Jake slithered away into the desert..._

_The dark clouds above began to soften and dissolve till it was a normal cluster of grey rain clouds and not the harsh black clouds Blor controlled. The sun began to set in the distance, causing the light to give off deep reds, purples and oranges against the grey rain clouds..._

_..._

My shoulders trembled as I buried my face in Kinski's long sleeve shirt. I held his limp body close, not letting go. Brim looked over at the Immortal army as they came up to where we were. The prairie dog army and the townspeople of Dirt joined up on the hill with us and stared up at the Immortal army with smiles on their faces. Happy to meet them, and happy that the war was finally over. Sadly, everyone was too tired, exhausted and full of sadness for the loss of loved ones and the traumatizing sight of gore.

Luminite staggered to his feet and used Brim as his support. "You... came," he said to the army.

The white rabbit I recognized nodded his head. "We noticed how the mission you two were assigned was getting a little too out of hand, so we decided to help," he said. Luminite's gold colored eyes gradually flickered away and he fell to his knees. The rabbit noticed this and came up to Luminite. "You are weak, Luminite," he said as he went down on one knee. Luminite moved his head slightly from the male white rabbit.

"I...dont need... your false sympathy... Light. I can...handle...this," said Luminite in a weak voice. the rabbit, named Light, ignored the white wolf's words as he lifted his hand and rested it on top of Luminite's head. A gold current began to swirl around Luminites head, then gradually got bigger and bigger till it snaked all the way around Luminite's weak body completely. Luminite's face gradually began to lighten up, and his body straightened up. Light lowered his hand and staggered a bit. Luminite got to his feet, feeling and looking fresh and more alert.

"We thank you for your aid in helping us...I just hope it doesnt effect us," said Luminite as his eyes flickered over to Brim.

Then, Light and a couple other members of the Immortal army noticed Brim as she slowly staggered to her feet. She still held Stump close to her chest. Her eyes were wet and a couple tears ran down her face. The Immortals stared at her, not showing any sympathy.

_They have never had any missions on Earth before, so they didnt understand emotions, and didnt understand why Brim was crying for a dead mortal. Brim has been to Earth twice now, and each time she was on the planet, she had gained the emotions, and were beginning to grow more and more stronger._

Brim stared up at the Immortal army like a young child. Her pale pink wet nose twitched. Light turned back to Luminite. "Your mission was looked over and not thought of as a problem. You two will be able to keep your jobs, and be rewarded for what you have done," said Light. Luminite smiled, but stopped when he heard Brim sniffle. He turned his head to her, just as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Behind her, were the townspeople, the prairie dogs, the dead creatures, and me.

I noticed guilt in Luminite's eyes as he stared at us. Then he turned back to the Immortal army. "Actually...I would rather not have a reward, but a wish, for my mortal friends to have their town back the way it was, and for the prairie dog people whatever they want for fighting in the war against Blor," answered Luminite.

Light nodded, "All right," he said. With that, he turned to the Immortal army behind him and moved his hands to his sides face up. The Immortal army did the same and began to concentrate. Instantly, a hazy gold cloud formed around the Immortals, then began to spread over to the levelled out, destroyed town. Gradually, the town began to come together, as if there were invisible hands constructing the town back together again, and possibly even better then before.

The gold light faded away and Dirt was back.

Light lowered his hands and staggered a bit. He held his head in exhaustion and slowly turned his head back to Luminite. Luminite then turned his head to Balthazar, who was just coming up beside him. "I dont really want to be a bother...but could you possibly bring my family who have lost their lives back?" asked Balthazar hopefully. Light shook his head. "I'm sorry, Balthazar, I'm afraid we cant do that...it is against our ways..."

Light hesitated as he looked over to Brim and me before adding: "You must understand that all mortals must go; all of you aren't meant to live forever like us," said the tall male rabbit. Brim felt tears come to her eyes as she held Stump in her arms. His head lolled backwards; his mouth slightly open. She hugged him tightly. I saw tears flow down her face. She slowly fell to her knees five feet from me.

Light turned his head back to Balthazar. "But...we can heal the close to dying ones and give your family enough food to last for generations," answered Light. Balthazar's mouth curved upward into a pleased smiled. "Much obliged, Light," he said. Light smiled a small smile and nodded.

Then Light's silvery grey eyes flickered past Balthazar and spotted Mr. Black in the crowd of Dirtonians; picking up his papers from when Blor crashed into his house. He stopped when he noticed the Immortals staring at him and slowly straightened up. Light slowly approached him. Brim and I looked up from where we sat up to Light as he passed by us to the black, steam punk spider. The townspeople parted to let him through. Mr. Black stood, staring up at the tall male rabbit. Around his thin legs, were his papers with information on his discovery to the secret of immortality.

Light stared down at Mr. Black, the cause of the madness. He discovered immortality. Mr. Black didnt seem scared as he stared up at Light. Light sighed, "Mr. Black...I'm sure you are now aware of what you have done..." he said. Mr. Black silently nodded. Light stared at the black spider. He seemed ready to accept his punishment. Accepting the concequences. Light didnt know what was going on inside him, but he felt almost... sorry for the spider. He could feel something in the spider. Light could feel pain, guilt, and other feelings. He was actually willing to die for all the wrong that he has done.

Light felt his stomach turn for having to kill the poor spider, but, he had no choice. Mr. Black had done something illegal. Light hesitated as he lifted his hand to the spider. He closed his hand, then added: "Therefore...I am going to give you a lighter punishment then the harsh punishment our council has thought to give you..." Light said. Mr. Black stared up at the Immortal before nodding his head.

With that, The white male rabbit went up to Mr. Black. Mr. Black didn't twitch or cower. Accepting the consequences. Light lifted his hand and carefully rested it on top of the spider's forehead. As he did, a strange gold current floated around Mr. Blacks head and Light's white hand. He was erasing all of Mr. Black's knowledge. Around them, the fluttering papers of Mr. Black's work instantly burst into blue flames till they were gone. Mr. Black's goggles twitched.

Brim and I watched as tears coated our cheeks. We held our rabbits tightly against our chests.

Finally, Light lifted his hand from the spider's forehead. As he did, the steam punk themed spider collapsed to the ground. Light turned back to the army and nodded. Then, he turned to Brim and Luminite. "We are done here...Are you two coming?" he asked. Luminite looked down at Brim. "Give us some time...I'll stay with her," he added. Light looked down at Brim one last time. He finally shook his head slightly and lifted his wings.

Everyone watched as the white, feathery winged Immortals flew up towards the opening in the soft grey rain clouds; orange, purple and yellow shafts of sunset colors were coming in. The flock soared through the shafts of light and were gone. The soft rain clouds shifted back to its original state. Rain began to come down. It came in a soft sprinkle, then into pea sized drops.

The clouds covered the colors and went back to dark shades of grey. The rain drummed against the ground, making the earth smells come up. Everyone slowly parted, going toward the town. Luminite knelt down next to Brim and the lifeless Stump. Brim cried softly in Stump's chest. Luminite touched Brim on the shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said. Brim didn't say anything. I stared at her through blurry wet eyes.

An Immortal. Just starting out on missions, and does something no Immortal should ever do: fall in love with a mortal. It was hard for her. It went for me as well. I should never have fallen for a gunslinger. Good people and gunslingers should never get together... It would cause so much trouble for everyone...


	44. Chapter 44:So Many Lives So Many Coffins

A couple days passed. The clouds stayed for a while; sprinkling their salty wet tears over the desert land that has been through a lot in the past couple of months. The prairie dog clan stayed to help for the huge funeral that everyone was tending to. I stayed with the town kids in the fixed up home of the deceased Mr. and Mrs. Rodent.

Petunia and Stub had cried themselves to sleep and slept next to me in the bed. I sat upright with the pillows propped up against the head board and stared down at the kids. Tears stung my eyes. I couldn't go to sleep. Kinski would always appear in my dreams. Every time I tried, the scene of him dying in my wings repeated over and over.

Around my neck, I still had the small leather pouch that held his jacks. I would reach up with the tips of my wings and lightly rub my thumb across the cool leather. My eyes were very red, and bags were beginning to form under them.

Just then, Beans, and a couple other townswomen came into the room. They noticed me sitting upright with Stub and Petunia sleeping soundly next to me. They quietly came over. Beans held a small tray of bread, a glass of water, and a bowl of fruit.

"Good morning, Banshee," she said in a quiet whisper, cautious not to wake up the kids. I stared up at her with my red eyes. She carefully placed the tray down on my lap. "We made you breakfast," she whispered. I stared down at the food, but didn't eat.

Beans picked up the knife next to the bread and began to cut it into slices. She gently placed the silver knife into the small jar of jam next to the bread and scooped the jam onto the bread and spread it across the surface. When she was done, she lifted the piece of bread to my lips. I slowly turned my head away. Beans continued to push the bread to my face.

"Banshee. You need to eat..." she said. I didn't answer, or make any intentions to eat. I was in eternal pain. I didn't feel like eating, I didn't feel like talking. All I wanted was to be left alone. Beans sighed and turned to the other townswomen. The townswomen came up and tried to persuade me into eating the food. I refused. They also tied making me go to sleep, but I would still refuse and sit upright in the bed.

Beans lowered the food she and the townswomen prepared for me and straightened up where she stood. "Banshee..." she started, but her voice faltered when she watched me turn my head away from her and look out the window. I didn't want to talk to her or anyone. I wanted to be left alone...

...

_After a while, the townswomen finally left Banshee and the kids in the room. Beans quietly closed the door behind her and sighed. "Poor Banshee..." she whispered to herself. With that, the ladies filed one by one down the wooden stairs and out the door to outside where the townspeople, market traders, and prairie dogs were helping get the funeral ready._

_Everyone was helping Mr. Black make the countless coffins and carefully set the dead bodies inside. Some of the townspeople were unable to help after all that has happened; it traumatized them to where they couldn't do anything. Like Banshee, they were mute and in their own deep, sad thoughts. It was a rough time for everyone. No one wanted to remember the past._

_Brim came up to Mr. Black in his workshop with a bucket of nails. Her eyes were red as she silently placed the bucket down. Mr. Black looked up at her. Brim's head was down and her platinum blonde bangs were in her eyes. Mr. Black touched her hand with his. Brim's wet blue eyes looked up slightly to Mr. Black's touch. Mr. Black smiled warmly up to her. Brim didn't return the gesture and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and left._

_Luminite came up to Mr. Black after Brim left and dropped a bunch of long, wooden boards down. "Here you are, Mr. Black," said the white wolf; he turned to look over at Brim and sighed sadly. "Ever since Neo died, she wasn't the same since...but thankfully, she moved on...and now...it seems that her past has come back to haunt her...I wish she didn't have to live through this again..." sighed Luminite as he gradually turned his head back around to Mr. Black. Mr. Black just stared up at him. Luminite lowered his head._

Since Light removed Mr. Black's specific memories, he only knew a fraction of what was going on. To him, the gang members of Bad Bill just died, and that was it. Everything else with Blor and the battles was just confusing to the poor spider. Luminite wished that he could give Mr. Black his memory to bring the gang members back to life, but that would be breaking the rules, and they would make him lose his job and possibly his wings!

_Luminite flapped his wings. With that, he said goodbye to Mr. Black and went on his way. Mr. Black looked up to the second story building where Banshee looked down at the town. He noticed her pale, sad face. Her eyes met his and they stared at each other. Finally, Banshee looked away and rested her head against the pillow in the bed. Mr. Black looked down at his hands with the hammer and nails and slumped his shoulders._

_He hated seeing ladies upset. He wished that he could do something, but he couldn't. He knew Brim and Banshee liked these horrible gunslingers, but they were bad people, he couldn't just...Suddenly, Mr. Black felt a strange feeling course through his brain and his body. He dropped the hammer and nails on the workbench and held his head._

_"Mr. Black? Are you ok?" asked Priscilla as she stopped hammering from where she was in the shop and came up to her old friend. Mr. Black lifted his head up to the young teen and stared at her through his goggles. He tried remembering what went on through his head, but it was gone now. It was strange. What was that weird feeling? Mr. Black waved it off and went back to working. Priscilla sighed and turned to Ricochet when he appeared right behind her. "Priscilla? What's wrong?" he asked._

_Priscilla turned to Ricochet, then back to Mr. Black. Mr. Black was busy hammering away at the boards Luminite gave him. Priscilla turned back to Ricochet and gently pushed his chest, making him walk backwards to the back of the workshop. "Do you remember how Mr. Black got his knowledge of immortality taken away from him?" Priscilla asked Ricochet. Ricochet nodded. Priscilla nodded and looked back over at Mr. Black._

_"He seems to not remember a lot at all," observed Priscilla sadly. Ricochet looked over to Mr. Black, then back at Priscilla. Priscilla felt her lower lip quiver a bit as she thought of poor Banshee, up in the Rodent's house, not being able to go to sleep because her love was gone. She could picture herself in Banshee's shoes: losing Ricochet and watching him die-_

_Priscilla wrapped her arms tightly around Ricochet. Ricochet wrapped his arms around her. "I wish they never took away Mr. Black's knowledge on immortality..." Priscilla cried. Ricochet nodded. "I do too," he said softly as he lifted his head up to the house where Banshee was staying._

_Then they turned their heads when they heard a noise. They noticed a couple prairie dogs gently placing the three gunslingers: Kinski, Stump, and Chorizo into their own coffins. Priscilla and Ricochet noticed the gunslingers wearing nice looking black suits. They have never seen them wear nice clothes before. Sadly, these nice clothes were for their funeral... and everyone else who have died. They exchanged sad glances to each other before walking away..._

_..._

At sundown, the dark clouds began to slowly drag themselves away, and was taken over by a beautiful fiery sunset. We all walked to the cemetery where the funeral was being held. Everyone wore their best black suits and dresses for the funeral. I even saw Luminite and Brim wearing black garments. It was strange to see them without their shiny, silver armor on. Besides their white, feathery wings sticking out from their backs, they actually looked like normal townspeople.

I noticed that Kaliah and the other bats and prairie dogs who couldn't join the battle came to the funeral. I noticed Soltus survived when Blor squeezed him and dropped him. The poor bat was covered in bandages and had a hard time walking. Kaliah and their children helped him. I was relieved that he survived.

I wore my old black dress and stood close to the coffins of Mr. and Mrs. Rodent with Stub and Petunia. I felt guilty when I finally found out the real names of the parents: Sally and Rick. I wish I knew more about them, they were so nice to me. I could have at least known their names...

On the other side of Mary and Rick's coffins was Kinski's coffin. I kept my head down. I didn't want to start crying again. Stub and Petunia were trying to keep their tears in as they held my wings, but I could see a couple small wet trails down their cheeks.

The crowd of townspeople and prairie dogs stood behind us as they stared up at the rows and rows of coffins. Each unburied coffin had a flower on the top and near the tombstones they each had a small little flag with my symbol on it, showing that they fought in the multiple wars that happened here in the town of Dirt. The little flags flapped in the cool breeze.

Rango came up and stood in front of all of us. His rotting back faced the unburied coffins. He stared out amongst us and finally decided to give a few words: "Today...we have come together...to honor those who have fought in the recent wars...and previous wars against Blor. They fought with us. They fought strong...and risked their lives...for freedom...and for trust..." Rango stopped to look at me. I stared up at him, then looked over at Kinski's coffin.

Rango continued, "We have lost many friends and family members...but we must remember that they fought for a reason, and that they will still be with us...in our hearts...forever. Therefore, we thank them for their sacrifice...their courage...and their time they had with us here..." Rango slowly turned his head to the rows of coffins behind him. _So many lives...so many coffins..._

The undead sheriff turned his decaying head back and stared at us through his dark sunken eyes. Behind me, I could hear a couple sniffles and sobbing. Petunia and Stub were crying in my dress. I lightly patted their heads and let them cry.

"...We will remember them for what they did for this town...and for being in our lives..." said the undead Rango. Everyone clapped for the sweet speech Rango gave. Rango smiled a small sad smile and walked away from the cemetery.

With that, Mr. Black and a couple other prairie dogs and townspeople began to place the coffins into the dug up holes one by one. I watched as Kinski's coffin was placed into the ground and then covered up by the loose mixed soils. Tears coated my cheeks as I watched. I touched the leather pouch with the jacks inside around my neck.

I lowered my head as my throat began to tighten and more tears poured down my face. My shoulders trembled and I collapsed to my knees. I felt multiple hands touch my shoulders and voices ask if I was all right. I wiped my eyes with the back of my wing and just sat there.

Gradually, I felt the hands grab me and pull me to my feet. The arms wrapped around me, keeping me from going back down. My eyes were blurred by the tears so I couldn't make out the people around me. I cried and buried my face into someone's shoulder.

"It's ok," said the person I was crying in their shoulder; I later found out that it was Ricochet. The group of people carefully led me to a group of chairs for the people who couldn't stand up any longer and bawled. They sat me down and gave me a cup of water. Priscilla and Ricochet stayed with me for a while, trying to help calm me down. After I was calm, they walked away and went to say their last goodbyes to the ones they knew who died.

Petunia and Stub came up and hugged me. I hugged them back. We sat there as the sun began to set and the fiery colors in the sky began to grow darker and darker. Light sprinkles of raindrops lightly sprayed our noses and hair. One by one, the coffins were all buried and had a bouquet of flowers on each hill of mixed soils.

The living creatures slowly made their way along the trails of the rows of buried loved ones. Some added more bouquets of flowers to ones grave while others touched the tops of the tombstones and silently gave them their thanks, or just stood there in front of the tombstone, deep in memories.

I spotted Brim and Luminite at Stump's grave. Luminite had his arms around Brim as she cried in her friend's shoulder. Luminite stared down at Stump's grave with sadness. Their wings drooped against their backs and touched the dirt ground.

Just then, Kaliah and her family came up to Stub, Petunia, and me. Kaliah gave me a sad look of sympathy. _"I'm sorry for yer loss, Banshee..."_ I nodded my head and looked down at the cup of water in my wing. Kaliah was silent for a minute, then spoke again.

_"Kinski was an amazing person...I never knew there would be good inside him...but you found it...I'm sure he's very grateful...if it weren't for you...everything would have been horrible for Dirt...and possibly the whole world."_

Soltus nodded his head gently, _"From what I heard from Kaliah, you are a hero to these people. You changed the ways, and saved everyone..."_

I looked up at the two adult bats before looking out over to the hundreds of graves in the open cemetery. _Not everyone..._ I thought in my head.

_So many lives...so many coffins..._

I turned back to see Petunia and Stub looking at the little bats. The little bats sniffed Stub and Petunia with curiosity. Kaliah and Soltus smiled at the little children. Petunia smiled when the female baby bat licked the side of her face. She giggled softly. Petunia patted the top of the female bat's head. Stub scratched behind the little boy bat's ear. The boy bat smiled and flapped his wings happily.

_"Such sweet little things,"_ said Kaliah to Stub and Petunia. I nodded my head, but looked down again in sadness. Kaliah noticed this and her ears flicked. _"Did their parents go to heaven?"_ she asked. I nodded my head again. Kaliah stared at the orphaned Rodent children with sympathy.

_"...Do they have any other family members to take care of them?"_ asked Kaliah. I stared up at Kaliah. I didn't know if Petunia and Stub had another family member...It seemed that since I joined their family, I was their new guardian. I silently pointed to myself. Kaliah nodded and smiled a small smile.

_"You will be a great mother to them..."_ Soltus said. I turned to him, then to Petunia and Stub. They were staring back at me. Even though the kids had no idea what the bats were saying, they seemed to understand what was being mentioned. I opened my wings to them and the two rodent children came forward and I wrapped my wings around them.

Kaliah and her family watched us as we hugged. In the cemetery, people were already leaving to go back to their homes. The sun was setting fast and the clouds were going away, letting the twinkling silver stars come out and shine across the deep royal blue sky.

_"Anera..."_ said Kaliah. I opened my eyes and turned to look up at her. Kaliah stared down at me. _"I overheard the other bats that your real name is Anera,"_ said Kaliah. I nodded. Kaliah stared down at me with another type of sadness on her face. The news finally got to her about my past. My past was already spreading like wildfire across the desert. Everyone knows me now. Kaliah stared at me for a while, then it gradually calmed down and smiled a small smile.

_"It's a beautiful name...why don't you go by your old name?"_ she asked me.

_"I like Banshee better..."_ said Kinski's voice in my head. Banshee seemed to suit me better now. I didnt want to think about my past that Blor destroyed right now. The name was just a name to me. It didnt mean anything. Banshee meant something to me. It represented the new me, the one who was given a second chance in the world, and was accepted. I wish I could accept my old name...but to me...it was just a name...

I just shrugged to Kaliah. Kaliah stared at me for a minute, then smiled a small sad smile again._ "Banshee is a beautiful name too,"_ she finally said.

Torches lit up around the cemetery, helping people see. Mostly everyone was leaving; the last people in the cemetery were Brim and Luminite. They said their last goodbyes to Stump's grave and a couple others before heading back to the town.

Petunia, Stub and I waved goodbye to Kaliah and her family as they flew off with Balthazar and the other prairie dogs and bats. After they all left, Petunia, Stub and I got up and made our way to the graves.

We went to each grave of the person we once knew and placed a flower on each. We said our goodbyes and gradually moved on to the next one.

We all three stopped at the graves of Sally and Rick Rodent. Petunia and Stub pulled out a wilting bouquet of daisies they picked themselves and placed them in the middle of the two graves. "I'm going to miss you mommy and daddy," whispered Petunia as she kissed her little hand and moved it out to both of the graves. Stub nodded his head and waved a small wave goodbye. His eyes were brimming with tears. I silently said my goodbyes and placed a flower on the tops of their graves.

Finally, we got to Kinski's grave. On the brand new polished white tombstone read: Kinski. Below, it had the day he was born, and the day he died. Underneath that, it had something no gunslinger would ever be able to have on their tombstone: A beloved, trusted friend and boyfriend. I smiled and felt the sharp, stinging tears drip down my face. I noticed something at the corner of my eye and turned my head. We weren't the only ones still in the cemetery.

Mr. Black stood a good distance from us in the cemetery. He looked out over the vast section of buried people. He seemed lost. He didn't seem to know why all these people have died. Everything was a mess in his blocked head. I knew how he felt: having a huge gap in your head. Something missing from your life and you can't remember a thing...

Mr. Black turned his head and stared at me. I stared back. The chilly breeze blew through our black garments as we stood there amongst the graves. I shivered and rubbed my wings. Mr. Black calmly stood there with his front arms clasped behind his back. He turned back to the graves and went back into deep thought.

I turned back to Kinski's grave. I remembered back to when I first met him. He was so sensitive and scared. He showed me how to shoot a gun, he told me his nightmares and a bit of his past. He made me laugh occasionally, and he was always there with me through it all. I blinked my eyes to keep the tears from coming again. I pulled out a flower and kissed the petals before gently placing it down next to the other flowers on top of his grave.

"I will always love you..." I whispered.

After a couple of minutes of standing before Kinski's grave in silence, Petunia, Stub and I finally decided to leave the cemetery. We walked across the uneven ground and made our way back to the town. I turned my head one last time to see Mr. Black. He was gone. I looked out one last time to the cemetery.

The white tombstones glowed in the moonlight and the cold breeze blew out the dim torches. The little flags with my symbol on them gently waved goodbye in the night...


	45. Chapter 45: One Last Hope

The blistering, hot days went by fast and gradually began to settle down. The town of Dirt was finally back to its original, lazy pace and everyone went on with their everyday lives...sadly though, no one could forget the tragic, and crazy events that happened in their very own town. The cemetery was a huge reminder, and our own immortal friends: Brim and Luminite, who have stayed with us through it all till the very end. Fortunately, we were a strong town, and after all that has happened, we could survive anything...

I sighed as I gradually opened my eyes and squinted from the sunlight that streamed in through my open window. I rubbed my tired eyes and slowly sat upright in bed. I had another dream with Kinski in it. It was the same one I had since I first came to the town: Kinski and I walking along the main road in the town, talking. I never could remember what we were talking about, but it didnt matter; as long as Kinski was with me, I was happy.

Sadly, it was all just a dream. I could feel the tears coming, but calmly blinked them away and kicked the covers away and got out of bed. I placed both feet on the wooden floor. The floorboards creaked softly from my weight. I stretched my wings forward, then upward to the ceiling. I yawned and relaxed my wings to my sides.

With that, I walked to the bathroom and changed into my black dress. My red symbol was stitched onto the front of my dress, and my other dresses. I was teaching myself how to sew, just to keep me sane. I smoothed out my dress with my wings and stared at myself in the oval mirror in front of me. My dark brown hair finally got a haircut and my wounds and bruises were gradually beginning to fade away.

I stared at my yellow, black slitted demon eyes. The unknown story behind my eyes, and my past was revealed and would sadly never be forgotten. Everytime I saw my eyes, I instantly saw Blor. I hated it. It enraged me. Knowing that a demon could do horrible things to a growing town, and experiment on poor young creatures.

I looked away from the mirror and began to slip on my boots and lace them up. After I was done, I walked out of the bathroom and out of my room to the kitchen downstairs. I stopped at the doorway of the kitchen and sighed sadly. In the kitchen, I could see images of Sally and Rick Rodent moving around in the kitchen. Mrs. Rodent preparing meals, while Mr. Rodent read the morning's newspaper. I blinked again and the two adults disappeared. I lowered my head and tried blinking away the tears again.

_It will never be forgotten...and it will never let the pain and guilt go away..._

"Banshee?" asked a small voice behind me. I turned around and noticed Petunia standing in her small pale white nightgown. She yawned and rubbed her right eye. I smiled a small smile and went down on my knees in front of her. "Good morning, Petunia. How did you sleep?" I asked her. Petunia stopped rubbing her eye and looked up at me. "I had a dream about mommy and daddy again," she answered. I stopped smiling and lowered my head again. Guilt churned violently in my stomach.

"Oh..." was all I could say.

Just then, Stub came into the room. "I had a dream about mom and dad too," he answered. His eyes, I noticed, were red from crying, but he stood straight and tall like a man and acted as though he never cried. I got to my feet and silently took Petunia's hand.

"Come on you two, let's go have some breakfast," I said, changing the subject. Stub and Petunia followed me into the kitchen and sat down at the round, wooden table. I went to the stove and began to prepare them food. I have been acting as their parent for the last week and a half now, and so far, I felt like I was doing a horrible job. I didnt know how to be a mom. I had already burned a couple meals, clogged the sink, broke a couple mirrors, and failed at comforting the two kids when they thought of their parents.

I couldnt take care of two kids...but how was I able to take care of a traumatized rabbit in the middle of the desert with only a couple provisions and a little instinct? I stopped stirring the oatmeal and began to think of Kinski.

"Banshee," said Stub. I turned around, wiping my wet eyes with the back of my hand. "Huh? yes, Stub?" I asked. Stub pointed to the front door. Knocking was heard at the door. I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room to open the door.

Brim and Luminite stood in front of me when I opened the door. "Good morning, Banshee," said Luminite with a small smile. Brim gave me a nod. I smiled and nodded back. "Good Morning, Luminite. Good morning, Brim. How are you two doing?" I asked them. Luminite was going to answer, but stopped and looked over to Brim. Brim gave a light shrug as she stared down at her feet. Her armor wasnt as silvery as it used to be, same with Luminite's. Also their white fur was beginning to dull and had a fine layer of dust over them.

I side stepped to the left of the door. "Would you two like to come in? I was just making break-" "Banshee! fire!" yelled Petunia. I cursed and ran back into the kitchen. I turned off the stove and picked up a ready bucket filled with water and took out the fire. The bottom half of the pot was burnt a dark brown and the oatmeal had a dark color to it, and didnt look like oatmeal. I sighed in frustration and placed the bucket down. When I stood upright, Brim and Luminite came at the doorway of the kitchen.

"Something wrong?" asked Luminite. I sighed again and stared at the dark colored pot of lumpy crusty oatmeal. "I hope you dont mind the oatmeal being a little...burnt," I said. Luminite smiled and patted me on the shoulder. "Its allright, Banshee," he said. I looked over to Stub and Petunia, who gave me grimaced smiles. I took the black pot from the stove and began scraping the oatmeal into four bowls and placing them in front of the four chairs.

Brim and Luminite sat down next to Stub and Petunia, who were happy to see their Immortal friends again. I gave them a spoon for their breakfast. After that, I pulled up an extra seat and sat down across from them. Stub and Petunia knew I wasnt a good cook, but ate what was not burnt and didnt taste like gravel. Brim and Luminite were Immortals and didnt eat, but decided to eat when they were given food from the market traders and townspeople who were so happy that they helped them get out of the horrible times.

Brim made a face when she stared at the spoon with the crusty, burnt oatmeal, then looked over to Luminite. Luminite took a bite of the oatmeal and chewed. His face lit up and looked down at the bowl filled with failure.

"Incredible! What is this mortal-er...food?" he asked. I stared at him. "Burnt oatmeal," I said. Luminite grinned. "I actually like it," he said. I blinked, but then decided not to get all excited over one person liking my burnt food. Luminite ate the oatmeal without spilling any or even needing a napkin, and then politely took Brim's untouched bowl and ate.

Stub and Petunia watched, and couldnt help but giggle at Luminite as he wagged his white tail. Brim seemed to smile as well. She has never seen the white wolf so happy about something before. After Luminite was done, he looked up at me with a grin on his face.

"I am surprised at how well you made this...oatmeal. It is as good as our food from where we come from," he said. Brim stopped smiling and got up. "Which is why we came here," she answered. I looked over at Brim. Luminite stopped smiling and looked up at Brim. He sighed and placed the bowl down on the table and stood up as well. "We came to tell you that the time has come for us to leave," he answered.

I stared at the two Immortals standing before me. "Wh-what?" I asked. Brim took a deep breath and sighed, her ears seemed to droop as well. "We need to leave...Banshee...we cant stay here..." she said. I stared at her. "You...you could stay here," I answered. Brim sighed again, but Luminite answered for her. "We would love to stay here, but we cant. Immortals cant be away from their home for long, its the rules, and we have already went beyond our time here on this planet," he said.

Petunia stared up at them with a small pout on her face. "Can you come back?" she asked. Luminite and Brim stared down at the little girl and smiled a small, sad smile. "Depends...if something happens here again...if we are given a mission to come here..." answered Luminite. Brim nodded sadly, then looked out the kitchen window to the cemetery.

Luminite noticed and moved his wing to block the window and continued talking to us as if he had no idea what he was doing. "We leave today...and we came here first to say goodbye," finished Luminite. I stared up at him and got up from my seat. "Why cant you stay a little longer? Or maybe ask for you to stay here?" I asked them. Brim looked over at me. I could see her fighting against the tears.

"No...thats not how it works...we are Immortals..." she looked down. I closed my mouth and looked down as well. It was their way, I couldnt question their ways. Its what they did, and that was that. I looked up at them and came forward. I wrapped my wings around Luminite and hugged him. Luminite jolted a bit in surprise and confusion. He wasnt used to being hugged. Then I stopped hugging him and hugged Brim. Brim hugged me back.

"I'm going to miss you guys," I said, after hugging Brim. Brim smiled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm going to miss you and the others too," she answered softly. Stub and Petunia got up from their chairs and hugged the Immortal as well. "Come and visit when you can," said Stub. "Yeah, come and visit us and stay longer," said Petunia. Brim and Luminite laughed softly as they hugged the two kids.

After that, they began to make their way to the front door. I followed after them, and told Stub and Petunia to finish what they could eat of their breakfast and get dressed. I followed the two Immortals to the door and opened it for them. They stopped and turned to face me. Their dusty wings flapped once behind them.

"It was nice meeting you, Miss Banshee..." started Luminite, but he seemed to have lost the rest of what he was going to say. I smiled and could feel the tears of sadness coming back. They were awesome friends, and I wish we could all stay together, but there are times where everything doesnt always go the way you want it to go, so you have to say goodbye.

"I'm glad you came to our town," I said. Luminite and Brim smiled. With that, they hugged me one last time and began to walk down the street. As they did, they said goodbye to everyone on the street, and got a couple hugs and little gifts of thanks. I watched them from the doorway, leaning against it with my arms at my sides. The townspeople stopped and watched as the two Immortals were walking to the entrance of the town. I could still see them and their wings flapping; getting ready to leave.

...

_Brim turned when she noticed Mr. Black in his shop. She stopped and stared at Mr. Black. Mr. Black didnt notice her as he continued to toss papers and vials over his shoulder. The glass shattered near the street as he continued to search through his workshop. "Mr. Black?" asked Brim as she began to walk toward the frustrated spider. _

_Luminite stopped and saw Brim leaving his side. "Brim?" he asked and followed her. Brim stopped, and ducked when a flying flask came at her and crashed behind her. Mr. Black moved around his workshop in a silent frantic. He seemed to have gone into a strange fixation to find this certain, unknown object in his workshop. Brim slowly moved closer. _

_"Mr. Black?" she asked as she came up and placed her hand on his shoulder. Mr. Black stopped and turned his head over to Brim. Brim took her hand off him and smiled a small smile. "Are you ok?" she asked. Mr. Black stared up at her. His eyes seemed to be wide behind his goggles and his chest was heaving as if he ran ten miles non stop. _

_He turned to look down at the papers in his hands, then crumpled them up in his hands and tossed them to the ground and continued to search on his knees. He grabbed a small box and opened it up. When he saw that there was a couple crystals, a stopwatch, and a dried up root, he tossed it over his shoulder carelessly and continued searching. _

_Brim obviously could tell something was wrong. Mr. Black was very gentle and cautious with his things, and wouldnt just toss them like as if they were a bunch of dirty socks. He was searching for something; and he needed to find it, even if it meant no sleep. Brim decided to help and began to search for whatever it was. Luminite's eyes widened. "Brim! What are you doing?" he asked as he came into the workshop. Brim straightened up and looked over to Luminite. _

_"Mr. Black is searching for something, and I want to help find it," she said. With that, she turned back around and continued looking through this one cardboard box full of empty glass test tubes and metal intruments. Luminite gripped her arm when she was about to carefully place a glass tube down. "We need to leave, Brim," he said sternly. Brim moved her arm away and placed the intrument down and continued to search. _

_"Go ahead and leave without me," she said as she continued to look. Luminite's mouth opened slightly as if he got slapped in the face. "Brim, you'll lose your job if you dont come back with me!" he said, raising his voice. Brim shot Luminite a glare. "I dont care about my job anymore. Everytime I'm sent on a mission, I always screw up and lose someone I loved..." she said through her teeth. Luminite blinked in surprise at Brim. Brim stared up at Luminite for a minute, then slowly turned her head back and continued searching. _

_Luminite was quiet for a minute, then finally asked the question that popped into his mind. "...Do you even know what he is looking for?" the white wolf asked in a low voice. Brim turned her head back up to her old friend, this time, her face was neutral, and not angry. She slowly nodded her head. "I know exactly what he is looking for, and I plan on helping him look for it," she said. _

_..._

After a couple minutes, I noticed that something happened and decided to go see what was up. I walked to the group of townspeople surrounding outside of Mr. Black's workshop. "What's going on?" I asked Elgin. Elgin shrugged. "Dunno. Mr. Black is trying to look fer somethin' in his shop, and those Immortals decided to help him look for it," he said. "Do you know what it is that they are looking for?" I asked. Elgin shook his head. "No, but it seems to be important," he answered.

With that information, I decided to go see for myself. I made my way through the crowd and into the workshop. I closed the door behind me and stared inside. The workshop was a mess. glass bottles seen shattered along the ground, crumpled papers strewn everywhere, and the shelves had things dangling or dripping over the edges. "What in the world...?" I heard myself mutter out loud. Luminite, Brim, and Mr. Black stopped searching and looked up from their spots.

I looked back at them. "What's going on?" I asked. Luminite looked over at Brim before getting up from where he was and looking back over at me. "We...got a little sidetracked." I nodded my head at the sight of the messy workshop. "I noticed...you helping Mr. Black clean up or something?" I asked. Luminite shook his head and narrowed his eyes a bit. "No, Brim saw Mr. Black looking in his workshop and decided to help," he answered. I looked over at Brim, who looked away and continued to search.

"I thought you guys had to leave," I pointed out. Luminite narrowed his eyes again. "Thats what we were _supposed _to do, but...Brim doesnt want to leave till she finds what Mr. Black is searching for," he said. "You can leave without me," answered Brim. Luminite shot her a stern look. "I cant do that! You are my partner and I have to watch out for you!" he snarled, raising his voice. "I'm not a baby, Luminite, I cant take care of myself," Brim said back. Luminite curled his hands into fists.

"You are a newbie! You dont understand-" "I understand plenty!" shouted Brim, looking up from the box she was looking through. Mr. Black flinched from Brim's shout and stopped looking as well. Brim got up from where she stood and lifted her wings up.

"...Yes...I have only had two missions in my time, but I understand more then you...I understand how it is to love...and then to lose the thing you loved...You never loved anything in your immortal life, Luminite...but I have...twice...and in both times...I lost them...Neo was a sweet boy...and I miss him everytime I think of him...but he's long gone now...but he is still with me...in my heart...along with Stump...But I feel that there is one last hope...one last shred of hope...that I could see him again..." Brim said.

We all stared at Brim as the tears streamed down her face. Luminite stared at his partner, not saying anything. Yes, it was true, Luminite was different then Brim. He never loved the mortals he met on his times on Earth, they were just short living beings who were just there on a planet; but after a couple months on the planet and actually observing the mortals more closely, he actually saw potential in them, and saw more to them then what he saw before. The simple mortals were actually amazing creatures. They knew how to survive, how to live, and how to communicate amongst eachother while their time ticked away on the little planet. Their lives were short compared to his immortality, but they were stronger, and more full then his.

Luminite finally spoke. "Brim..." Luminite started. His voice faltered a bit, trying to find the right words, then spoke again. "I...I dont want you to get your hopes up high on this one...I mean...if you did find whatever it is that might bring Stump back from the dead...how do you know if it will?" Luminite asked. Brim blinked at Luminite, then looked over to me, Mr. Black, then back to the white wolf.

Suddenly, a smile appeared on Brim's face. "It will work...I just know it..." she answered. Just after she said that, Mr. Black began jumping up in down and waving his arms to get our attention. Luminite, Brim and I turned to see Mr. Black in the dark corner behind Brim. While we were talking, it looked like he continued to search.

He looked really excited about something. "What is it, Mr. Black?" asked Brim. Mr. Black stopped jumping up and down and quickly turned around and pulled out a chest from under a cabinet. He opened the lid and took a side step from the chest to show us the discovery he found.

Instantly, the thing inside illuminated the dark section of the room a green glow. We all gasped and took a step closer to the thing inside the chest. Brim gasped excitedly and placed her hands over her mouth. "That's it...thats the thing he was searching for," she said in a faint, whispery voice.

Inside the chest, were three vials full of green liquid.

My eyes widened at the vials. Mr. Black stared down at them in awe as well. Brim smiled and hugged Mr. Black. I looked up at Brim. "What are they?" I asked her. Brim looked over to me. "They are special vials that will bring Stump and Kinski back to life," she said. I felt my heart skip a beat. "Wh-what?" I asked.

Brim smiled to me. "They will bring, them back to life," she said. I blinked at her. I was starting to understand what Luminite was talking about. _How did she know these were the vials that could bring them back?_ Brim seemed to be reading my mind. "I just know, Banshee...I just know..." she said. I stared at her, she seemed very confident in Mr. Black, and the vials. She knew, she had this special instinct, just like the other Immortals. They knew.

I looked back at the green vials. There was only three vials. Two were not there. I looked closely at one of the slots and saw that one was broken, and the other was missing. Why was there one broken, and one missing? I then realized who else couldve needed the vials. Bill. He knew about them the whole time, and that was why one was missing.

_But why was the other broken? and why didnt Bill take the vials with him? _I pondered_. Did he leave them here on purpose for us to find them and to give to his old gang? ...No...Bill was a heartless monster, he loathed his old gang members now, they went against him...But still...he found the vials...why didnt he take them? _I began to think that Bill inteneded to leave them_...Would he come back for them?_

Thinking of that, I looked out to the entrance of Dirt and out to the open. Nothing. No Bill. I turned back to the vials. Only three remained. Most likely for Stump, Chorizo and Kinski...no one else...Maybe there was some good in Bill after all...

I turned back to Brim, Mr. Black and Luminite, they were all looking back at me. They read my thoughts, they knew what I was thinking. "He might be dead somewhere... after drinking the vial... What if the vials dont work?" asked Luminite. I hesitated. Luminite had a point. What if it was all for nothing? I looked over at Brim.

Brim still didnt seem affected by Luminite's words. She was very confident. After her speech, I began to feel confident a bit as well. I looked up at Luminite. Luminite was skeptic on things like this; but he cared for us and didnt want us to become more upset then we were now. I stared at the white wolf, then over to Brim.

"...We'll just have to see and find out," I answered.

...


	46. Chapter 46: Alive

We told Rango and the posse about the vials and tried to persuae them to let us go on with our plan. Rango, Beans, and the others finally gave in and let us go with it. We had to do it at night though, so the townspeople wouldnt try to steal the vials and use them to bring back their loved ones.

I felt guilty though. There were only three vials, and thousands of dead people. I wish that there was more than three vials; but the vials were Mr. Blacks vials, and he was giving them to us to use.

_...Though... they might not work... _I shook the thought out of my head. _No, dont think like that...they will work..._

The full moon was out. Billions of silver, twinkling stars dotted the dark sky. The night was chilly. I shivered in my dress as we quietly walked along the shadows in the main street of Dirt toward the cemetery. Mr. Black walked by me, he offered me his custom- made, black jacket. I shook my head, but he insisted, so I thanked him quietly and took it, and continued walking.

My heart was beating fast. Bringing Kinski back from the dead was both exciting, and scary. I looked over to Brim and Luminite. Brim was very happy as she held the box of vials close to her chest. I could see her smiling in the moonlight. Lumninite was nonchalent and didnt make any noise. He continued toward the marked graves on the uneven ground outside of Dirt.

We finally made it to the cemetery. I stared down at Kinski's grave. The flowers we gave his grave were dead and brown. I lightly ran the tips of my wings across the top of the cold, grey tombstone. Already, his tombstone was starting to crack and break down.

A shovel flashed in front of my face, startling me. Mr. Black stared up at me in silent apology and handed me the shovel. I took the shovel and looked down at Kinski's grave one last time before using my foot to stomp down on the top metal part of the shovel and heave a heavy pile of dirt away.

Luminite was digging up Chorizo's grave, while Brim and Mr. Black worked on digging up Stump's grave. The moon was very helpful as it illuminated the cemetery for us. My wings started to get sore as I continued digging. I straightened up and wiped my forehead with the back of my wing and looked down at what I have done.

I was only two and a half feet down. I looked over to Luminite. I could just see his head as it came up from the dug up hole. I looked back down and continued digging. Thankfully the dirt was loose since it got disturbed and filled back over. The ground was soft and used to being dug up.

_Thump!_ _Thump!_ Brim and Mr. Black's shovels hit against something hard. They looked at eachother, then looked back down. Luminite and I stopped digging and came over to them. Brim and Mr. Black moved out of the way when Luminite took over.

We watched as Luminite went down on his hands and knees and began to use his huge, white paws to brush away the dirt. It was wood. He knocked lightly on it. It was Stump's coffin. The wood was dark and beginning to rot. He began to dig around the edges of the coffin and finally was able to pry it up and out of the hole.

We helped lift the coffin out of the hole and onto the uneven ground. Luminite climbed out of the hole and placed his hands on his knees. Mr. Black used a crowbar to pry up the wood. The nails screeched and finally gave in. The top opened up and Brim caught it before it fell to the ground.

Inside the coffin, was Stump's body.

Stump was lying face up with his hands placed over his heart. His body still looked good, even for a dead person. Unfortunately, the thought disappeared. Stump's black suit had a couple bugs crawling around, even in his hair and ears. Brim placed her hand over her mouth and tears streamed out of her eyes.

"...D-do you th-think its...?" her voice faltered.

Luminite stared down at the body of Stump. He didnt say anything. I calmly moved away from the coffin and picked up the box of vials where Brim left them and handed one to her.

"Let's find out," I said. Brim accepted the vial. She stared down at it. It glowed in the night, giving her hands a pale green tint to them. She lightly pressed it against her chest, then looked up at me. She silently nodded. With that, she came forward to where Stump's head rested. She gently lifted his head with one hand, and uncorked the vial with the other. Mr. Black helped by carefully openeing the corpse's mouth.

"Please work," Brim whispered to the vial. Then, she poured the green liquid down Stump's throat. The liquid drained out fast, then the small vial was empty. Brim placed the small cork back onto the vial and gently placed Stump's head back down. She stared down at Stump's body and waited. Stump didnt move.

A couple minutes passed...Nothing.

"...How...How l-long do we have to wait?" asked Brim as she turned to Mr. Black. Mr. Black turned to her and stared at her with a blank expression on his face. He had no idea. Brim's ears began to droop. We continued to wait. Luminite sighed and crossed his legs on the ground but continued to be quiet. Five minutes passed...Ten minutes. I began to worry.

"M-maybe w-we did it wrong..." suggested Brim as she looked over to Luminite. Luminite didnt look at her. Brim turned to Mr. Black, who stared down at Stump's body. Stump still didnt move. I looked over at Kinski's half dug up grave. Fresh tears came down my face. The vials didnt work.

"M-maybe w-we missed a s-step-" "Stop it Brim!" snapped Luminite. Brim went quiet, but the tears kept going down her face. Luminite got up and came up to her. "You are just hurting yourself. We cant bring them back..." Luminite told Brim. Brim stared up at her partner with her big, blue eyes. Luminite sighed and looked down. "...I'm sorry..." he said, his voice low. With that, he pulled Brim closer to him and hugged her. Brim cried into his armor.

Luminite looked over to me. His gold colored eyes werent as bright, they had a grweyish tint to them. "Bury the coffins back up..." he commanded. Mr. Black and I just stood there, staring at Brim, feeling horrible. Luminite looked away from us and back down at Brim. Brim moved out of Luminite's arms and over to Stump's grave. She gently lifted Stump's upper torso out of the coffin and hugged him tightly.

She cried as she held the short jackrabbit.

Mr. Black lowered his head. He looked as though he was blaming himself for everything. He thought it was all his fault. I lowered my head as well and watched as the tears left my eyes and dissolved into the soft ground.

_Brim opened her wet eyes and stared down at Stump. Stump was such a sweet boy. He purposely went over on the good side and fought...all for her... Brim smiled a small smile as she brushed the loose dark strands of Stump's hair out of his closed eyes. She stared down at his face. Bugs crawled all over. She lightly brushed them away, then gave him a light kiss on the lips._

_Stump still wouldnt come back to her. She remembered what he said to her before he died: "...I will... never leave you...I...will...always...be...there...for you...I love...you, Brim...I will...never...leave...you..."_

_She smiled again, and more tears came down. Her hand lightly touched his head. This time, gold currents lightly floated around Stump's head. Luminite looked up and saw what she was doing. "Brim! No! What are you doing?!" he asked as he came up to her._ _Brim was giving all her energy into Stump's dead body._

Mr. Black and I looked up from where we stood and watched as Luminite pulled Brim to her feet. Luminite gripped her arm and yanked her away from Stump. Stump's body fell back into the coffin. Brim felt herself get pulled up from where she sat, then felt herself falling. Luminite grabbed her in time.

"What are you doing?! You cant heal a dead person! It doesnt work!" shouted Luminite to Brim. Brim averted her eyes from Luminite. She felt dizzy and lightheaded as Luminite supported her. Luminite looked back over to us again, this time he looked very cross.

"The vials are not going to work...you cant bring back someone who has already died...Mr. Black was the only one...but now...there is no other way...the dead are forever dead..." Luminite said. With that, he picked up Brim in his arms.

"Bury Stump and the other graves back up...we are leaving...goodbye, Banshee...goodbye Mr. Black..." he said.

Mr. Black and I didnt watch Luminite walk down from the cemetery as we gradually walked over to Stump's coffin and started to put the coffin lid back on. Right when we were lowering it down, I could've sworn I saw Stump move. I stopped lowering the coffin down and stared down at Stump. Nothing. Mr. Black looked over at me, then down at Stump. I shook my head.

"Nevermind," I muttered and began to lower the lid again. This time, Mr. Black didnt lower his side of the lid. He stared down at Stump. "Mr. Black? Something wrong?" I asked. Mr. Black didnt look up at me as he continued to stare down at the short jackrabbit in the coffin. I looked down at Stump as well, closely.

My heart stopped when I noticed his clothes move. _Wait...no...It had to be the wind... _I thought. I looked up. The wind had stopped. I looked back down at Stump again and lightly placed the tips of my wing on top of his chest. Faintly...very faintly...I felt his chest move. I gasped and removed my wing when Stump suddenly jerked and gasped for air. I screamed a startled scream and walked backwards rom the coffin. Mr. Black gasped and walked backwards too, but tripped and fell. Stump sat bolt upright and breathed heavily. My eyes were wide in shock.

"B-Brim! Brim! Brim!" I screamed and turned my head. Luminite was already flying up toward the night sky. He stopped and turned his silouetted body and down to me. "What's wrong, Banshee?!" he called down to me. I pointed to Stump. "He's alive! He's alive! Stump is alive!" I screamed. Luminite instantly came back down and landed in front of us.

"What's wrong with-" started Brim. "He's alive!" I said again. Luminite shushed me. "Ok, ok, calm down Banshee," He told me. I turned my head when I saw Stump groan and rub his head in the coffin. Luminite and Brim gasped in shock. "S-Stump!" squeaked Brim as she ran over to him and hugged him tightly. Then she began kissing Stump's face.

Stump began to cough and heave heavily. He was alive, but just barely. I turned to Luminite, who was staring at Stump. "...That's not...possible..." he said. He came over and touched the top of Stump's head, then pulled back in surprise.

"Y-Your healing powers...Brim...they activated the liquid..." said Luminite. Brim stopped kissing Stump and looked up at her partner. "Activated the liquid?" she asked. Luminite nodded, then he turned to Mr. Black and me. His eyes were wide with shock that the vials could work and bring back the gunslingers.

"I...I never thought..." his voice faltered, then he closed his mouth and looked down. He looked down at the box of vials. Only two left. He looked back up at me and Mr. Black again, then he smiled a small smile before grabbing a shovel. Mr. Black and I smiled and grabbed a shovel ourselves and began digging up Chorizo's and Kinski's graves.

...

Luminite pried open Chorizo's coffin lid and Kinski's coffin lid with his hands and tossed them aside. Kinski laid in an awkward position in his coffin. He looked uncomfortable and stiff. Luminite gave me one of the vials while he took the last one and poured the liquid down the shrews mouth. After that, he placed his hand on top of Chorizo's head and concentrated. The gold currents gently swirled around Chorizo's head. Luminite faltered a bit and took his hand off Chorizo.

I turned back to Kinski and gingerly lifted his head up and opened his mouth. I poured the liquid down his throat and turned to Brim. Brim lightly placed her hand on Kinski's head and concentrated. The faint gold currents snaked around Kinskis head.

Chorizo coughed and heaved back to life. Mr. Black and Luminite took a step back from the shrew in shock as he slowly lifted his upper body up and clutched his throat and coughed some more. He trembled where he sat. He looked very thin, and exhausted.

I turned my focus back to Kinski. Brim removed her hand from his forehead and collapsed. She was very weak. I stared down at Kinski's body impatiently. He wasnt moving.

"Please Kinski...Please come back..." I whispered. Mr. Black and Luminite gently let Chorizo back down to rest before coming over to where Brim and I were. They stared down at Kinski's body and waited with me. Tears streamed down my face. "Please...Please..." I begged in a soft whisper. Kinski's eyes still remained closed.

I felt my heart stop when I thought I saw movement, but it was nothing. I began to breathe heavily in panic. "...K-Kinski..." I choked out. Luminite gently helped Brim up and then they both exchanged a sad look.

I lowered my head and listened for a heartbeat. There was no sound. I cried and rested my head against his chest. He wasnt coming back...he was dead. I could feel the chilly winds pick up again and the faint sound of a coyote howl. I continued to cry and hope that Kinski would come back to me.

Just then, I felt something touch my shoulder. I ignored it and continued to cry. I then found out that it was someones hand. The hand gently patted my shoulder, then gradually came up to my hair and slowly snaked its way through my hair. I opened my eyes and lifted my head up in slight alarm. The hand slowly slipped down to my waist. I felt my heart skip a beat when I turned my head to the hand and found that it was connected to an arm. My eyes followed the arm, to Kinski. Kinski's eyes were half open and he was staring straight at me.

I gasped in shock. "K-Kinski!" I choked out. Tears of happiness came pouring down my face as I hugged Kinski tightly and kissed his mouth. Kinski mov3ed his head away from me and coughed, then rested his head back down on the pillow in the coffin. I stared down at him with a huge smile on my fadce. Brim, Luminite and Mr. Black came up from behind me, also with smiles on their faces. I smiled up at them.

"He's alive...Kinski's alive!" I said excitedly.

"Alive...something that no dead man should be," said a voice behind us. We all turned our heads and found the whole town standing fifteen feet from us with flaming torches. Brim, Luminite, Mr. Black and I froze in our spots in surprise. We had been caught. I stared at the townspeople with guilt in my stomach.


	47. Chapter 47: Memories and Moments

The morning light streamed through my eyelids. My eyes slowly fluttered open and blinked. I laid in one of the white cot beds with the white sheets tucked up to my chin. I shifted slightly, but heard something behind me rustle a bit and breathe. I turned my head and found Kinski behind me, sleeping soundly. I smiled. His arm was draped over my waist.

Since last night, Mr. Black, Luminite, Brim and I got caught by the townspeople. They were a bit angry at us for bringing Kinski, Stump, and Chorizo back from the dead, but then decided to not remain angry. They liked the three gunslingers as well, and were happy to have them back. They helped us carry Kinski, Stump, and Chorizo back to the town to Doc's office and help nurse the gunslingers back to health.

Since they were dead for a week and a half, they had lost a lot of weight and needed the proper treatment to be fed and well rested. Kinski didnt want me to leave him. He would groan loudly and try to get up from his bed to me. Doc allowed me to stay with him for the night.

Brim sat in a chair next to Stump's bed and later fell asleep in it. Luminite slept in one of the cot beds on the far side, next to where Chorizo's cot bed was. We were all exhausted from last night, especially Brim and Luminite. Mr. Black wasnt, and had disappeared into his workshop.

Kinski muttered something softly in his sleep and shifted closer to me and held me close. I smiled and lightly kissed the top of his head before resting my head back down on the pillow that Kinski and I were sharing and fell back asleep. A couple minutes later, I woke up to the sound of faint footsteps and the sound of a tray being carefully placed down on the nightstand next to the bed. I opened my eyes and found Doc and Petunia standing right at the bedside close to me.

"Good morning, Miss Banshee," said Doc. Petunia smiled and waved at me. "Morning, Banshee," she said smiling. I smiled back. I was so happy to see Petunia happy. I smiled and began to slowly get out of bed. Kinski stirred and blinked his eyes open. He weakly looked up at us.

Petunia's smile widened, "Kinski!" she said excitedly and hugged Kinski. Kinski's eyes widened as he felt Petunia's arms wrap around his neck tightly. "I'm so happy yer alive!" she said. Doc and I smiled down at Petunia and Kinski. Kinski coughed and tried to sit upright, but collapsed back down in the bed. Petunia loosned her arms around his neck, then gave him a kiss on the cheek before jumping off the bed.

Kinski blinked in surprise and blushed a bit from Petunia's action. Petunia looked over at the tray and picked up a bowl of vegetable stew and looked over to me. "I get to feed Kinski," she said with a smile on her face. She was so happy to have her friend back. Kinski stared at Petunia with the bowl of food in her hands and licked his lips hungrily.

Petunia smiled and helped him sit upright and began to spoon feed him. Kinski was very thin and his cheeks were hollow. He chewed the food slowly and swallowed with effort. I watched from the end of the bed as he was fed. I was still shocked that he came back. I was so happy to have him, Stump and Chorizo back from the dead.

After he was done with the bowl, he looked to see if there was more food. Petunia grabbed a plate of bread and fed him that. After he scarfed the food down, Petunia moved out of the way for Doc. "Hello, Kinski. Glad to have you back," he said as he lifted Kinski's left arm, then let it drop. Kinski stared down at his lifeless arm. Doc placed his one good ear over Kinski's chest and listened to his heartbeat.

"Faint, but still is beating," Doc muttered. Petunia pulled out her stethoscope out and placed the small disk over Kinski's heart to listen to his heartbeat. She smiled and nodded. "Yep, faint, but still beating," she confirmed. Kinski gave her a weak smile, but stopped when Doc flashed a small flashlight in his eyes, to see how well his eyes were.

I knew Kinski wanted to move away from Doc, but he just sat there in the bed, unable to move. He didnt like the little check up Doc was giving him, but he had no choice. Doc opened Kinski's mouth and looked inside. He used a tongue depresser to push down Kinski's tongue to look at his tonsils and teeth; Then he closed it and checked inside Kinski's ears. Kinski's ears twitched from the bugs that crawled around. Doc used a small piece of cloth to brush them away before letting Kinski's ears flop back down against his head. Then he checked his arm muscle, and reflexes. Kinski's body was as dull as a rock.

"You are barely alive, but a couple weeks of being fed and you'll be back on yer feet in no time," said Doc. Kinski nodded his head slightly. Doc nodded back and stared at Kinski for a minute. "Consider yourself lucky, Kinski. Miss Banshee and Brim were the ones who brought you back to life," he added. Kinski gradually turned his head over to me and smiled admiringly at me. I smiled back.

Then, Doc pulled out a medicine bottle. Kinski's smile died as he watched Doc pour two pills out from the bottle and into his hand. Kinski stared at the pills in the one eared rabbit's hands and began to move away. He didnt want to take them. Doc looked at Kinski.

"I'm sorry, Kinski...I know you dont want to take them, but you need to," he explained. Doc tried to put the pills in the hunchback's mouth, but Kinski wouldnt swallow them. Doc finally got Kinski's weak mouth to open and placed the pills in the hunchback's mouth. Kinski narrowed his eyes and tried spitting them out, but he was too weak to do anything, and was forced to swallow them. He tried lifting his arms, but they couldnt move. His eyes began to flutter. His body relaxed and he fell back asleep.

Doc sighed and straightened up. "Still a stubborn one," he muttered, but gave me a small smile. "He'll be allright, Miss Banshee, he just needs some time to rest. You may leave if you want to," he said. I looked down at Kinski, then shook my head. "No, I'd rather stay here with him," I answered. Doc nodded and began to leave. "Come Petunia," he called. Petunia hesitated. "Can I stay here too?" she asked. Doc looked over at Kinski and me then smiled and nodded. "Of course," he said, then left.

I scooted closer to Kinski and lightly brushed his bangs away so I could see his closed eyes. Petunia stared down at him and smiled. "I'm so happy he's back," she said. I smiled and gazed down at the hunchback. "I am too," I answered. Just then, Brim woke up to the sound of Stump waking up and groaning. Petunia and I turned our heads to them.

"Morning, Brim," I said to Brim. Brim turned to us tiredly and stretched herself. She winced from the pains and stretched her wings and arms out. "Uh...morning," she answered back and yawned. She opened her eyes and stared down at Stump. Stump was groaning and moaning weakly. Petunia smiled and got the tray from the nightstand and came over to spoon feed Stump. Brim watched Petunia as she fed the short jackrabbit where he laid. She smiled and then looked over to me. "How's Kinski doing?" she asked me. I looked over to Kinski, then to her with a smile on my face.

"He's doing ok. He just got fed, and Doc gave him some medicine," I answered. Brim nodded. "I'm glad that Mr. Black made those vials," she said. I nodded, but then began to wonder why he did. Brim seemed to know what I was thinking and nodded.

"He had to have known that they werent going to live much longer," she answered. I looked back up at her. Petunia stopped feeding Stump for a minute and looked at us. The sun streamed through the white curtains in the window from the wall across the cot beds. "So, you think he was going to try to give these vials to the four while they were still alive?" I asked. Brim shrugged. "Maybe, but why five?" she asked. I shrugged. Brim began to wonder, then her eyes widened and she looked back up at me.

"Who were the five ones?" she asked. I blinked. "What do you mean?" I asked. Brim got up from her spot. "The five ones that Mr. Black brought back to life," Brim said. I blinked again, then understood what she meant and began to go through the list:

"Bill...Kinski...Stump...Chorizo...Rango-" My eyes widened. "Rango," I said. Petunia's eyes widened as well. Brim nodded. "He made five vials for each person he brought back to life. Rango was the fifth person he brought back to life," I said, then I narrowed my eyes a bit. "He knew the whole time, why didnt he give the vials to them then?" I asked. Brim shrugged. "Maybe he knew that Blor knew...which is why he hid them," said Brim. I stared at her. "You knew as well?" I asked her. Petunia looked over at the female Immortal. Brim hesitated.

"I saw him with the vials before...but I didnt see him hide them. He wouldnt let me see them. He was very secretive about it," she explained. I nodded. "Do you think he's going to die?" I asked.

"Do I think who's going to die?" asked a different voice. Brim and I turned just as Sheriff Rango entered into the room. Petunia turned back and continued to feed Stump. Rango's dark, sunken in eyes stared at us, and bugs crawled through his undead skin. Brim and I both stared at the zombie sheriff. Besides being a zombie, he looked fine. He didnt look like he was suffering in pain like how the others did.

"Uh..." I started. Brim walked up to Rango. "We are curious to why you haven't also been a victim to death," she said. Rango gave her a confused look. "Excuse me?" he asked. I got up and faced Rango. "You were the fifth person to be brought back from the dead by Mr. Black. Bill, Stump, Chorizo, and Kinski all have died from the cause, but not you," I answered.

Rango still didnt seem to understand. "...I didnt die...but the others did...and they were brought back to life...but I didnt have to?" he asked. Brim and I nodded. Rango blinked, then thought about. "Huh...I've never thought of that..." he said as he rubbed his chin in deep thought. Then he looked back at us and shrugged. "I dunno, I guess we'll never know. Mr. Black is the only person who does," Rango said. I stared at the zombie sheriff. _He was right, Mr. Black was the only person who knew, and was the one who started it all; sadly, he lost his memory so we couldnt ask him_.

With that, Rango tipped his hat to us and walked out of the small hospital. Brim and I exchanged glances, then decided to drop it. Rango was in perfect health and didnt look like he needed help at all. _Maybe when Mr. Black brough Rango back to life as a zombie, he had improved the ways of bringing people back from the dead...or maybe Mr. Black was uncertain and decided to make the vials, just in case if his original way of bringing the five back to life wouldnt work...but what if the vials didnt work as well?_

I decided not to think too deeply on the subject. Mr. Black was a mysterious spider...and that's what he remained to be...along with his discoveries. Some things are just meant to stay a mystery...

...

The weeks passed by fast, and Stump, Chorizo and Kinski were beginning to gain back their weight and their strength. Petunia continued to spoon feed them, until they were able to feed themselves. The three men got their voices back and were able to talk to us.

Brim was so happy to hear Stump again and began to ask him questions. Stump didnt mind and enjoyed seeing Brim next to his cot bed. "Do you need anything, Stump?" Brim asked again. Stump smiled and shook his head. "No, Brim, I'm fine," he said. Then he wrapped his arms around Brim. "All I need is you," he said.

Chorizo talked to Luminite and asked what happened while they were dead. Luminite told him how Blor lost and how the couple of weeks were in his perspective in Dirt. "Blor was defeated by Jake as the prophecy foretold, and my people fixed Dirt up back to the way it was. Chorizo nodded, then he looked down at himself. "How come I'm alive?" he asked. Luminite smiled a small smile. "We brought you, Kinski, and Stump back from the dead," he explained. Chorizo blinked.

"You brought me back?" he asked. Luminite nodded. "Before Mr. Black lost his knowing of immortality, he created these vials that were able to bring you back," Luminite explained. Chorizo let the words sink in. "And you gave me one? Why not the other people who died?" he asked. Luminite looked over to us, then back to Chorizo. "Because...you deserved it," he explained before getting up and walking away. Chorizo's eyes widened at what the white wolf said, then looked down deep in thought.

Kinski mostly slept in his cot bed. Since his strength came back, he wouldnt let me leave to get up from the bed. I didnt mind and slept with him. I enjoed feeling his arms wrapped around my stomach and his head nuzzled against my back. His heavy breathing rustled my hair as he slept soundly through the mornings and into the afternoons.

The next day, we went walking down the main street in the town of Drit. I held his left arm as he carefully walked along the road. Occasionally he would falter and stumble, but would regain his balance and continue onward. "Hey, Kinski! glad to have ya back!" said Waffles excitedly as he came up and shook Kinski's hand rapidly. Kinski smiled and nodded his head, trying to keep himself from falling over.

Roon and Burton came by smiling and talking, then they saw us and waved. "Hey Kinski! Hey Banshee!" they said in usion. Kinski and I waved back, and continued on. Priscilla and Ricochet walked alongside us, holding hands. "Hey Kinski and Banshee. How you guys doin'?" asked Ricochet. Kinski shrugged, "Good...I'm glad to be back..." he answered in a low voice. I smiled up at him. Ricochet and Priscilla smiled. "We are glad ta have ya back as well, Kinski," said Priscilla.

...

Later on in the day, the sun was starting to set, and the sky was a beautiful orange and a mixture of gold and pink. Kinski looked up at the two story house where Petunia, Stub and I were living in. He looked down at me and smiled. "Let's vatch ze sunset, jes?" he asked. I smiled and nodded. "Ok," I said. We went inside, climbed up the stairs and out the window to the roof. We sat at the edge of the roof and silently watched the sunset. Kinski rested his head against my shoulder and sighed happily.

"I love bein' up 'ere vith ya," he said. I smiled and nuzzled my head against his. "Im happy you are back with me," I said. Kinski smiled and wrapped his arms around me. We sat in silence, enjoying being with each other as we watched the sun sink toward the deep urple mountains and escape to the other side of the world.

Suddenly, Kinski's arms loosened from me and his head lifted up. I turned my head and looked up at him. "Kinski? What's wrong?" I asked him. Kinsmki stared down at me through his blonde bangs. "Banshee...I...um...I need to tell ya somezin'..." he said in a low voice. I stared up at him. "What's wrong?" I asked him. Kinski lowered his head. I touched his shoulder, making him look up.

"It's ok...you can tell me..." I said. Kinski hesitated, his eyes flickered from me, to his hands. Then he noticed the small leather pouch around my neck. He reached up and touched it. He lifted it in his fingers, then let it gently rest against my chest. He sighed and looked back up at me with his hazel eyes.

"...I saw yer parents vhen I vas..." Kinski's voice faltered. I turned my head to him. "Y-you saw my parents?" I asked him, I felt my throat close up. Kinski stared down at his hands and nodded. "Ja...vhen...I vas...not...here..." he explained, trying to not say what happened to him a couple weeks ago. Kinski noticed the tears coming down my eyes. He placed his hand on top of my wing and looked into my eyes.

"Zey...zey said zat zey love you...and are very proud of you..." he said. My eyes widened a bit at Kinski. Kinski turned his head and looked up at me. As he did, he lifted his hand up to my face and lightly brushed the strands of hair from my face. I closed my eyes as he wiped the tears rolling down my face as well. Kinski scooted closer to me.

"Zey also sang somezin' to me...a little poem...I zink is a poem zey used to sing to ya vhen you vere little..." Kinski said with a small smile on his face. I felt the tips of my ears burn a bit, but sighed and lowered my head. "I dont think I'll be able to remember..." I said.

Kinski cupped his hand under my chin and lowly lifted it up. My eyes stared up at him.

"...You vill...I vill help you remember..." he said. I blushed as I stared up at him. He seemed to have confidence in me. Kinski removed his hand from under my chin. Kinski smirked as he looked down at his hands resting on top of mine. "Now...don't expect me to know ze whole song...but I caught a little bit..." he said. I smiled. Kinski hesitated. "An' dont expect me to sing vell," he added. I smiled. Singing songs didnt seem to be his strong suit, but he took a deep breath, and sang in a soft, low voice:

"Sveet little Anera...our blooming flower..."

"Ve vill care for you...vith our love ve shower..."

Kinski smiled a small smile to me as I blushed.

"Ve love yer eyes...Ve... love yer hair...

But no matter vhere you are...ve vill...alvays be zere..."

Tears ran down my eyes as I listened to the little song. Kinski seemed to choke at the words. They seemed to touch him as well.

"Someday...vhen you grow...ve vill...'ave to part...

but no matter...no matter vhere you go...ve vill...vill..."

Kinski stopped, his eyes narrowed a bit as he tried to remember the last verse. He stared down at the ground hard in frustration. I stared up at the hunchback jackrabbit. Tears came down my eyes. "We will love you with all our heart..." I finished. Kinski stopped thinking and slowly lifted his head up to me in surprise.

I remembered.

Memories came back to me. Each scene I saw in my head with my parents caused more tears to drip down my face. After a couple seconds I couldnt take it anymore. I cried and began to curl into a ball.

Kinski grabbed me and hugged me tightly. I wrapped my wings around him and cried in his shoulder. Kinski silently smoothed the back of my head, stroking my hair gently. More and more memories came back to me, like a film, projecting on the darkness in my closed eyelids. I cried harder and hugged Kinski tightly. Kinski continued to stroke my hair and hold me. Comforting me.

My whole past life played right before me in my mind. Happy memories, sad memories, unforgettable memories...but they were my memories... Faces that once seemed unknown to me, were now familiar. Bats that looked just like me, coming by and waving at me, or playing with me, hugging me, flying with me...my memories were back.

I wiped my eyes on Kinski's shoulder and moved away. Kinski loosened his arms, but still had them wrapped around me. He stared down at me. "You ok?" he asked me. I took a deep breath and exhaled. The memories were gradually ceasing.

I smiled at one that popped up into my mind. One with me and my family sitting on the roof of our house, watching a sunset together...We were smiling. Having a great time as we watched the sun give off its last rays, and the painted clouds turn darker shades of color before disappearing over the mountains with the sun. More tears came down my face...but they were tears of happiness. I looked up at Kinski. Kinski smiled back.

"See...I knew you vould vremember..." he said. With that, he lowered his head and kissed me on the lips. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. It felt like years since we last kissed. I pulled him closer to me. His hands rested at my waist. Gradually, our long kiss ceased and we pulled away and stared into each others eyes. Kinski smiled a huge smile, making me smile. "You are so beautiful," he whispered. I blushed and touched the side of his face.

The sun finally disappeared over the mountains, letting the moon and stars come out. The moonlight illuminated Kinski, but didnt turn him into a zombie. Since he was brought back to life by the vials, he had lost the curse of turning into a zombie by moonlight. I was happy for that, but did he lose his half immortality and healing powers too? I didnt want to find out at the moment as we sat there, holding eachother close.

Finally, it got dark to where it was time to go. Kinski got up, then helped me up. The moonlight illuminated him as he stood there. I smiled up at him and was about to turn around and head back down, but Kinski held my shoulders. I stared up at Kinski in confusion. Kinski smiled down at me in the moonlight. He touched the side of my face. Then his hands gradually slid down the sides of my body to my wings.

Suddenly he began to stoop down. My eyes widened and I felt myself stiffen. He went down on one knee and gazed up at me with a nervous smile. "Banshee...I...I know...I know zis might seem a bit fast but...ve 'ave known eachother fer a vhile an'...I feel...I mean..." his voice faltered. I stared down at him in shock. He tried again.

"...I vant to...tell you...zat you...you are perfect...an' I vant to spend ze rest of my life wit' ya...so...B-Banshee...vill...v-vill..." he faltered again. I could feel his hands starting to sweat. "V-vill you marry me?" he asked. I felt my heart stop. My mouth dropped open as I stood there, staring down at him. _H-he actually proposed!_

"I...I...I..." I spluttered. Kinski's nervous smile gradually began to disappear. His face was red with embarassment behind his bangs as he held my wings. We stood there in dead silence on the rooftop. "I...y-yes..." I finally said. Kinski looked back up at me. "Vh-vhat?" he asked. I nodded my head repeatedly. "Y-yes..." I said, then smiled and laughed a small nervous laugh. Kinski's smile came back as he got back up on his feet. He picked me up in his arms and spun around. "Jes!" he said happily. I had my wings wrapped around his neck when he stopped. I laughed happily.

Suddenly, we heard something below. We looked down and saw the whole town with torches. They were cheering and clapping. I could see Rango, Beans, the posse, Priscilla, Ricochet, even Petunia and Stub. They were all there, looking up at us, and congradulating us.

"Yay! She said yes!" said one of the townspeople. "Good job, Kinski," said another. I felt my whole body heat up. Kinski froze and stared down at the townspeople below. "They's gonna git married!" shouted another. I looked over at Kinski, and Kinski looked back at me. He smiled a small, embarassed smile and shrugged.

"Zey vere gonna find out eventually," he said. With that, he kissed me on the lips, which made the crowd cheer louder. I kissed him back, and the townspeople continued to cheer and shout loudly in the cold night...

* * *

**Hey guys! I havent spoken in a while. Need to thank my sister for the Anera/Banshee poem. (I suck at writing poems). Also would like to point out that this story will finally be coming to a close and I'm both excited and sad at the same time. Banshee and a couple other characters wont be "seen" anymore :( but I will be writing more about Kinski, Chorizo and Stump and their past! :D yays! They are so cool :) also, sorry for the weird moment with the vials and the proposal :P it was awkward. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the second to last chapter! :D and the final chapter is next! :D and D:**


	48. Chapter 48: The Final Goodbyes

"You look so pretty in that dress," said Petunia as she smiled up at me from the stool she sat on. Almost every townswoman in Dirt was inside Roon's living room, helping me get ready for my wedding. I smiled back at Petunia and looked down at the white dress I wore. It was the same dress Beans wore for her wedding, but it had to be altered to my fit, and the sleeves had to be taken off because of my wings. Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach. I was very nervous. It felt as if it were yesterday when Beans was getting nervous to get married to Rango.

Now it was my turn to be nervous...

Roon stopped fixing the bottom of my dress and took a couple steps back to look at me. She smiled and clasped her light brown hands together. "Oh...you are so beautiful..." she said. I felt my wings starting to sweat as I looked away. The other townswomen began to crowd around me after they were done on their part of the dress and started chatting away excitedly.

Priscilla placed the crown of cactus flowers on my head and let the light veil fall behind my head. My ears twitched from the itchy fabric touching them. I lightly scratched them then stopped when Beans came into the room to check up on me.

"Hello, Miss Banshee...my... you look amazing in that dress," she said, smiling at me. I nodded my head as a silent thanks. Petunia smiled and jumped down from the stool she was sitting on and came running up to me and Beans.

"She looks very pretty! I bet Kinski is gonna be so amazed!" she laughed at the thought of Kinski's surprised face. Beans and I laughed as well. It has been three days since he asked me to marry him. Since then, everyone was so excited into bringing it all together; and now, the day has come. I haven't seen Kinski since this morning. He was pulled away from me by the guys to get his custom suit made by Mr. Black.

"So, Miss Bride Girl, how ya doin'?" asked Beans with a smirk on her face. I smiled and touched my stomach. "My stomach hurts," I said. Beans' smirk grew on her face as she touched my shoulders and led me to the huge oval mirror on the other side of the room. I stared at myself in the reflection and saw a twenty six year old bat, with demon eyes, in a white dress.

"You shouldn't be nervous...you told me that when I was getting married," she told me. I smiled and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She picked up the bouquet of red cactus flowers on the wooden chair next to the mirror and handed them to me, completing the bride look.

"This should be the happiest day of yer life," she told me. I stared at myself in the mirror. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. I felt tears come down my eyes. I wish my parents could be here to see me right now...

...

The music began to play, telling me it was time for me to walk down the aisle. "I-I can't do this," I said as I stopped dead in my tracks. Priscilla and Petunia looked up at me. They wore their light dresses and each held a basket of flowers in their arm. They gently pushed me to the door to outside.

"Yes you can. Yer just nervous about all the people," Priscilla said. I gulped as I thought of everyone watching me. Suddenly, I felt myself pushed forward and out the door. My heart stopped when I saw everyone outside. Every townsperson, market trader, and family member of the Prairie Dog Clan were there, all dressed up in their best clothes. They all turned their heads and stared at me.

I felt Priscilla push me forward and I moved forward, down the road to the area that was set up and decorated with flowers and white lace. I also noticed a couple flags around the wedding area with my symbol on it. My family's symbol. I smiled. Then I spotted Brim and Luminite. They were wearing nice clothes. Luminite wore a white tux while Brim wore a grey dress that went down to her feet. Their white wings were folded up against their back as they stood on my far left. I still couldn't get used to them wearing something other than their normal wear. They smiled and waved to me.

Next to them was Stump and Chorizo, both wearing nice black suits. They smiled and nodded their heads to me. I blushed and turned my head over to the other side of me. I spotted Kaliah, Balthazar, Soltus, and the two small bats. They flapped their wings and beamed at me. Mr. Black stood amongst them in his normal wear, smiling at me.

Beyond them, outside of the decorated square of the wedding, I saw something move near a huge boulder. I squinted, then my eyes widened in surprise. Peeking out from the boulder, was Bill. He stared at me. I felt my body tense up. What was he doing there? He continued to stand there, not moving. He didn't seem to want to disturb what he saw. I looked away from his gaze. When I looked up, he was gone. _Where did he go...?_

"Keep walking, Banshee," said Petunia as she looked up at me. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked away from where Bill was and continued walking. _I don't think he plans on doing anything to us anymore, _I thought as I kept walking down the aisle decorated in white flowers.

I started feeling very insecure from all the eyes staring at me. I averted my eyes from everyone and stared down at the flowers in my wings. As I walked down the aisle, I could hear everyone whispering about me. "Aw, look at her," I heard someone say. "She looks gorgeous," another voice said. My face began to heat up in embarrassment. Suddenly, I heard Petunia whisper something to Priscilla.

"Kinski is wearing a suit!"

I looked up and stopped dead in my tracks and gasped in amazement. Standing fifteen feet in front of me at the altar, was Kinski. He looked very handsome. His blonde hair was combed back, revealing his beautiful, hazel eyes. He wore shiny black shoes and a black suit. The thing that shocked me the most, was that he was staring straight at me, smiling; standing straight and tall.

I blushed and started to walk again.

He continued to stare at me when I stopped next to him and faced the altar where the preacher stood. He was one of the market traders that married Beans and Rango. Kinski leaned down to my ear. "You look beautiful," he whispered. I blushed and couldn't help but smile. "You look handsome," I told him. He laughed a small, nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I...I never zought I vould git married...I never zought I vould be vone of ze lucky vones..." He admitted. I scooted closer to him and took his hand. He looked down, then back up at me. I smiled. He smiled back. Then we both turned to the preacher and listened to him give the vows.

"Do you, Kinski, take Banshee to be your wife?" Preacher asked. Kinski turned to me and stared into my eyes. Gradually, he nodded his head. "Jes...I do," he said. Then Preacher turned to me. "And do you, Banshee...take Kinski to be yer husband?" he asked me. I stared up at Kinski.

I still couldn't believe it...I couldn't believe this was actually happening. Since the day we first met...when I was in their gang...he didn't shoot me...and when Bill became ruler of the town, Kinski sided with me...then when Blor became ruler...he stayed with me through it all...We have been through the worst times imaginable...but we were able to survive through it all...together.

"I do," I said.

Preacher smiled. "Then I pronounce you husband and wife," Preacher turned to Kinski. "You may kiss the bride," he told him. Kinski grinned, then turned back to me. He leaned down, cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. Everyone cheered and clapped happily.

After we kissed, Kinski smiled down at me and took my hand. We both walked down from the alter and to the swarming crowd of people congratulating us. I could see Roon, Brim, and a couple other townswomen smiling at me with tears in their eyes. Stump stood next to Brim and was rubbing his right eye. Chorizo came up and punched him in the shoulder. Stump averted his eyes away from Chorizo. He too was emotional, but didn't want anyone to notice.

After the crowd settled down, we all made our way to the huge table with food. The bats flew overhead and grabbed whatever they could from the table and took off in a heartbeat. Roon and some other females in charge of the food had to shoo away the bats to keep them from taking any more food. Kinski and I stood near the huge wedding cake. Roon gave Kinski the knife to cut the first slice.

Kinski handed me the plate and I sat down with it in my wings. Kinski sat down after that and we both ate the cake with small forks. Kinski kept himself from attacking the slice of cake with his bare hands. I was actually surprised with him and smiled. "How are you enjoying the cake?" I asked him. He looked over at me and grinned, revealing frosting and pieces of cake on his messed up teeth.

Just then, Brim, Luminite and Stump came by and sat down next to us. "_Buenos Dias, senor y senora_ Kinski," said Chorizo with a grin on his face. Brim smiled, "I'm really happy for you two. I'm also happy I didnt miss out on the wedding," she said. Luminite mumbled something, then nodded his head in agreement. Stump looked up at us with his red eyes. "Indeed," he said in his British accent and looked away. "Thank you," I said. Kinski nodded and continued eating the slice of cake.

"So, what are you two plannin' on now?" asked Chorizo. Kinski and I exchanged glances then looked back at the shrew. I spoke first. "Well, right now, I'm taking care of Stub and Petunia in their house," I said, then looked over at Kinski. Kinski stopped eating and looked over to me, then looked down. I looked down as well.

It was still very hard to have seen Stub and Petunia's parents die in front of us. I still had nightmares from it...and the war itself. Sometimes I would occasionally hear the painful cries of innocent people being killed. My eyes were beginning to hurt from the forming tears.

I began to tremble, but then felt Kinski's arms wrap around me and the small tremble stopped. "I plan on stayin' ere vith my family," said Kinski to Chorizo. Chorizo looked up at Kinski, then nodded. "Seems like a good way to spend the rest of yer life," he said. I stared at the Spanish-speaking shrew.

"What do you plan on doing?" I asked him. Chorizo leaned back in his chair and stretched. "I plan on leavin' tomorrow morning. I actually have thought of this one for a while since I was brought back to life...Gracias by the way," he muttered the last part as he stopped strething and slouched over his hands and looked down at the ground.

"Vhat are ya gonna do?" Kinski asked him. Chorizo looked up and straightened up a bit. "I dont want to be an outlaw anymore...since you have givin' me a second chance and showed how much you guys care...I...I was thinkin'...of learnin'... to play the guitar...I've always wanted to play, but my parents wouldnt let me..." Chorizo's voice faltered when he mentioned his parents. I saw a flash of red in his eyes before it changed back to his dull mustard yellow eyes and he looked back up at us. _"Que?"_ he asked, seeing that we were staring at him which made him feel uneasy.

Finally, Luminite spoke up. "Learning to play the guitar is a great talent to learn," he said. Chorizo looked over to Luminite and nodded. "I think so too," he said, and his mouth curled up into a small smile. I looked over at Stump and Brim. "What about you two?" I asked them. Stump looked up at me, then over to Brim. Brim looked away from me and looked down at her small hands in her lap. Her white ears were starting to go down.

Then she silently got up and left. Stump watched Brim walk away. He had a nervous look on his face as he got up. "Brim? Brim, are you ok?" he asked as he got up and followed after her. Luminite, Kinski, Chorizo and I exchanged glances. "I'll go see what's wrong, see you guys later," said Luminite as he got up and followed. Chorizo just sighed. "That's one of the reasons why I'm single. Women are so loco...no offense, Banshee," he said as he got up. I narrowed my eyes a bit, but decided to ignore the shrew.

Chorizo stared down at Kinski's cake. "That cake looks really tasty. I'm gonna go and git a slice. Would you guys like another?" He offered. Kinski held up his hand and nodded in a silent gesture that he would. Chorizo nodded and left us alone. It wasn't long before Stub and Petunia came by and hugged us both. Kinski picked up Petunia in his arms and let her sit on his lap. He was very surprised to see how big Petunia was now.

"You are growing up very fast! You are big girl now, Petunia, jes?" he asked her, grinning. Petunia laughed when he began tickling her. Stub playfully came to the rescue, but Kinski grabbed him and held him in a headlock. "Hey! No fair!" laughed Stub as he tried to get out of Kinski's grasp. He kicked him in the side, but Kinski laughed it off and finally let him go. He got up and began chasing the kids around the place. I smiled and watched the three play. I didnt notice Kaliah's kids coming up from behind me.

I jolted and yelped in surprise when they playfully attacked me and wrapped their wings around my neck. _"We got you! We got you!"_ said the young female. The young male laughed. _"You should have seen the look on yer face!"_ he said and started to climb to the top of my head. I smiled and tried getting them off. Suddenly, I heard Kaliah's voice.

_"Anera! Kin! Stop climbing on top of Banshee!"_ Kaliah said firmly. I felt my heart stop as I turned to look, just as Kaliah and Soltus were coming up to where I was. Immediately, Kaliah and Soltus' kids flapped their wings and flew off of me and to their parents. I stared at Kaliah, speechless. Did she just call my name to one of her kids?

Kaliah smiled. _"I talked to Soltus, and we both agreed on naming our kids,"_ she said. Soltus nodded. _"She told me about your old name, and how she really like how it sounded, so we both agreed on naming our young daughter, Anera,"_ he explained.

I blinked in surprise, and finally found my voice. "I never thought you would name your child with my name," I said. Kaliah smiled._ "I love the name, and I was always told: Never let a name go to waste. I hope you dont mind..."_ She added. I shook my head and smiled.

"No, I dont mind at all...actually, I think it really suits her," I said as I looked down at Anera, who was playfully chewing on her brother's right ear. I smiled down at the two little kids. I was surprised with Kaliah that she would actually name one of her own kids after me. I actually felt honored.

Then, the young male bat, named Kin, attacked his sister, then they both began flying around their parents' heads. "Where did you two come up with Kin? Is it an old ancestor's name?" I asked them. Kaliah and Soltus exchanged grinning glances before turning back to me.

_"It's actually short for Kinski,"_ said Kaliah.

My mouth dropped open. Soltus smirked at my shock. _"In our group, when a warrior has done something courageous or great in battle, we usually honor their strength and heroic deeds by naming our children after them, so their name is remembered for generations. I was honored to fight alongside your mate and letting him take command of our group, so I proudly chose to name my own son after him,"_ Soltus explained.

Just then, Stub, Petunia and Kinski were seen coming back. Petunia and Stub were sitting on both of Kinski's shoulders. Kinski smiled and waved at Kaliah and her family. He stopped in front of us and stooped down low so Stub and Petunia could jump off. They laughed and ran off to the food table to get a slice of cake. After they were gone, Kinski straightened back up and grinned.

_"Bunny!"_ screamed Anera and Kin in usion and attacked Kinski. Kinski's grin widened as the bat kids wrapped their wings around him and began tugging at his droopy ears. Just then, Chorizo came back with two slices of cake and gave one to Kinski. "Here ya go, _amigo_," Then he looked up and noticed the two bat kids on Kinski's head. He gave a puzzling look before turning his head and noticing Kaliah. I could see Soltus stare down at Chorizo and his wings tense up a bit.

Chorizo recognized Kaliah and smirked. "Hey, I remember you. Yer Kaliah, right?" he asked. Kaliah turned her head to me. She looked nervous. I placed my wing on her shoulder. "He's on our side, as well as Stump," I told her. Kaliah finally relaxed and turned her head back to Chorizo, who was staring up at Soltus. His hands were shaking as they held the white plate with the slice of cake.

"Oh, Chorizo, this is Kaliah's family," I said, then began pointing to the bats. "This is Soltus, Anera, and Kin," I said. Kinski stopped playing with the bats on his head and looked down at me. "Zey named zeir kids?" he asked in surprise. I turned to him and smiled. "They named their kids after us," I said. Kinski jerked his head back a bit in surprise. His eyes were wide. Kaliah and Soltus smiled at Kinski's reaction. I nodded. "They named their daughter, Anera, and their son, Kinski, after you," I said. Kinski stared at me, then up to the two bat parents.

"...A-After me?" he asked. Kin climbed around Kinski's shoulder then smiled at him. "I got named after you!" he said excitedly, happy to be named after a brave warrior who was in battle. Kinski stared at Kin, then back up at Kaliah and Soltus. Kinski's mouth gradually formed upward into a flattered smile. "I never zought anyone… vould name anyzing after me...even zere kids..." his voice went quiet. I came up and hugged him. "You are different then who you once were a long time ago, Kinski," I told him. Kinski's eyes gradually looked down at me. He smiled without showing his teeth.

"Zanks to you," he said.

Just then, music began to play, and everyone excitedly got up, grabbed a partner and began dancing. Kinski handed Kin and Anera his slice of cake, then wrapped one arm around my waist, and took my wing in the other. "Le's dance. I owe you vone from ze last vedding," he said as he led me to the middle of the dance floor.

_Kaliah and Soltus rested their head against each-others and watched the two dance. Below them, Kin and Anera ate the slice of cake Kinski gave to them, happily. Chorizo looked up once, but went back to eating his cake. The dancefloor was bigger when Rango and Beans had their wedding because of Balthazar, the bats, and the Prairie Dogs. Balthazar asked Maybelle to dance with him. Ezekiel danced with one of the townswomen, and Jedidiah danced with one of his female cousins. A couple of the bats attended to the dance as well._

_Stump, Luminite and Brim came back from where they went, and noticed everyone dancing. Stump looked up at Brim nervously before holding his hand up to her. "Um...M-miss Brim...would you...would you care to dance?" he asked her. Brim looked down at Stump. Her face blushed and her face finally broke a small smile. "Yes, I would love to dance with you," she said as she took Stump's hand. Of course, the first part was a bit awkward, since Stump was two and a half feet shorter then Brim, but they soon got the hang of it and began to dance._

_Most of the townswomen and market traders who didn't have a partner crowded around Luminite and begged for him to dance with one of them. Luminite placed his hands in front of his chest and took a step back from the female crowd, smiling nervously. "Ladies, please...I would love to...but I don't know how-" he stopped in midsentence when Petunia came up and wrapped her arms around his leg. Luminite jolted at the sight of the little girl._

_Petunia looked up at him and laughed. "Dance with me!" she said. Luminite looked up at the townswomen, who were clasping their hands together and gazing at the adorable scene before them. "Awww, that is so sweet," some said. Luminite pulled Petunia off his leg and placed her down. Petunia grabbed his arm and pulled him to the dance floor. Luminite sighed and finally gave in to Petunia and danced with her._

_Burton finally broke through his shyness and asked Roon to dance with him, Roon smiled and walked with him to the dance floor and began to dance. "I'm so glad you asked me to dance, Burton," said Roon. Burton twirled her and stared down at the light brown fox. "Y-you do?" he asked. Roon nodded. "I love dancing, I always wanted someone to ask me to dance, but no one ever has," she said. Burton smiled._

Rango and Beans danced near us. They smiled at us. "I have never seen you two dance together before," said Beans. Kinski and I blushed a bit and smiled back. Rango grinned. "It's nice to see you two finally together. I was wonderin' when Kinski would ask you, Banshee," the zombie sheriff said. Kinski tried hiding behind his bangs, but he couldn't, so he just smiled and nodded. Just then, Rango's decaying arm snapped off in Bean's hand. "Whoops, sorry, dear," said Rango in embarassment. Beans smiled, "It's ok, honey, it happens," she said as she clicked his arm back on. With that, they both said goodbye to us and left.

Kinski and I danced among the other dancers. Waffles was seen dancing with a female horned toad in a red dress. He waved to us, then disappeared into the crowd of dancers. Then, Ricochet and Priscilla came by. Priscilla wore a simple black dress that came down to her shins while Ricochet wore a nice black suit and his black curly hair was straightened and combed back. He waved to us with his good arm and they both came over to us.

"Hey Kinski and Banshee," the grey rabbit said. Kinski grinned at Ricochet. "Nice vooden hand," he said and pointed down at Ricochet's other arm. Instead of his usual corkscrew at the end of his arm, he had a wooden hand that rested on Priscilla's waist. Ricochet looked down at his wooden hand and smiled. "Yeah, I got it so I wouldn't hurt Priscilla with it on accident...again," he said. Priscilla looked up at his sad face. "Dont get angry at yerself, it wasn't yer fault," she said. Ricochet didn't say anything.

Then he looked back up at Kinski and me. "Mr. Black is teaching me how to wood carve, and he helped me make this," he said as he lifted the hand up. The wood was smooth and the fingers had separated sections with wire attached so he could move them to hold something. "I only use it when I'm off work," he said smiling. Priscilla lifted her own hand up and interlaced her fingers into Ricochet's wooden hand. Ricochet turned to her and smiled lovingly at her, just as she went up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

Just then, Brim and Stump came over to us. Brim saw Priscilla kiss Ricochet and tilted her head to the side and smiled at the adorable sight. _Those two are so cute,_ she thought to herself. Priscilla and Ricochet noticed Brim and Stump and said hi to them. They started up a nice conversation together till the end of the first song was done. Kinski and I stopped dancing. Kinski wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

When the next song came up, it was upbeat and everyone changed their dance moves and started to laugh and swing to the rhythm. Kinski looked over at the band who was playing before turning to me. "Urm...do you vant to dance again?" he asked. I smiled and batted my eyelashes at him. Kinski couldn't help but smile and rolled his eyes. "Ok, fine," he said. I kissed his cheek and we both began to dance again. Kinski had a little trouble keeping up with the music, but he finally got the hang of it and was enjoying himself.

_Ricochet took Priscilla's hands and they began dancing. They both laughed. Brim smiled and watched them dance, then looked down at Stump. Stump looked up at her, then took her hand and they both began to dance. After the song was over, Stump was very exhausted and had to go sit down. He had never danced like that before...also he was out of shape. Brim helped him to a chair. Stump sat down, heaving and coughing. Brim sat down next to him and beamed. "That was fun, I enjoy dancing," she said. Stump held his chest with one hand. "I think... I'm going... to die... again," he said between heavy breaths._

Then another song came on. Luminite was done with dancing with Petunia, so Petunia came over to us and tugged at the ends of Kinski's black coattails. "Can I dance with you?" she asked staring up at Kinski with her huge brown eyes. Kinski looked at me, then at the little girl. I smiled. "Of course you can, he's all yours," I said and lightly pushed Kinski forward. Kinski gave me a look, but had a smile on his face. I stuck my tongue out playfully. Kinski turned back to Petunia.

He bent down low and took her little hands. Petunia giggled and they both began to dance. Petunia had her feet on top of Kinski's huge feet and they both danced together. I watched them dance. I was so glad Kinski was now more open and allowed himself to have fun and to dance. Just then, I felt something tug at my wing. I looked down and found Stub looking up at me. He wore a dark grey suit and had his hair half combed back and the other side uncombed. He smiled up at me.

"May I have this dance?" he asked. I couldn't help but smile at the twelve year old boy. "Of course, young man," I said. Stub grinned and took my wing, then we both danced together. I looked up from Stub's head and looked at everyone else. Everyone was having so much fun at the wedding. I smiled. I was happy to see everyone else happy. After all the things they went through again, they needed another wedding to keep them occupied and to escape the horrible memories of Blor and the wars.

The dance ended, just as Roon came up to me and Stub. "Are you ready to throw the bouquet?" she asked me. I blinked, "What?" I asked. Roon lifted the bouquet of flowers in her arms, the same one I was holding when I was standing at the altar. Roon handed me the bouquet and led me to the front of the dancefloor. Everyone looked up and started clapping and cheering. A couple bats flew overhead and screeched excitedly. I smiled as I nervoulsy turned around, my back facing the forming, female crowd, and tossed the bouquet over my head.

The single townswomen and the female prairie dogs fought viciously over the bouquet as it flew over their stretched out arms. A couple flying bats attacked it, making the bouquet go farther over the heads of the females. Gradually, the bouquet came down and landed right into Brim's arms. Brim's eyes widened and stared down at the bouquet of wilted flowers. Stump's eyes widened excitedly as he came up to her.

"Good catch, Brim," he said, smiling as he touched her arm. Brim looked down at Stump. Her eyes were filled with worry and sadness. She looked away from Stump as she silently walked over to where Priscilla and Ricochet were and handed Priscilla the bouquet of flowers. She brushed her white bangs away from her blue eyes and smiled a small smile at the shocked faces on Priscilla and Ricochet.

"I think you deserve the bouquet...I wish you two to have a long, and happy life together," she told Priscilla and Ricochet in a soft voice. With that, she turned away and walked past everyone. Stump watched her, his heart broken. "B-Brim? Brim, wait," he called to her and ran after her. Kinski and I exchanged glances as we walked past the crowd of murmuring people after Stump and Brim.

We found them both sitting at the steps of one of the houses. Stump had his hand on Brim's back and was talking to her. We both stopped and watched from a good distance. Kinski and I exchanged glances. "Do you zink ve should go over zere and ask vhat's vrong?" asked Kinski to me. I stared up at him, then over to Stump and Brim. Finally, I shook my head. "No, let's give them their space," I said. Kinski nodded. "Ok," he said. With that, we both left.

_Stump looked at Brim and lightly rubbed her back. Her wings were down and rested behind her, getting all dirty, but Brim didn't seem to care. Brim took a deep breath and exhaled. She glanced over at Stump. "I...I really do love you...Stump...its just that..." her voice faltered. She tried again. "I...I don't know if we really can be together...I...I don't want to lose you...just like how I lost Neo..." she said. Stump stared at her._

_Then, Stump placed his hand on top of Brim's hand. "You wont. Just like I said...I will always be there for you," Stump said. Brim smiled a small smile, then it disappeared and she looked down at her hands. "H-How will we ever see each other again?" she asked. Stump opened his mouth, then closed it. Brim was from a different world. A world only Immortals who are born immortal can go to... Immortals can never be with mortals from different worlds. It was against the rules, and it was impossible._

_Stump squeezed Brim's hand and rested his head against hers. "We'll figure out a way...I promise," he said. Brim closed her eyes and squeezed Stump's hand back. They sat there together, hoping they could figure out a way to stay together._

_Luminite watched them from where he sat in the area where the wedding was. His gold colored eyes stared at the two. He could tell something was going on, and knew what it was. Tomorrow was when they both decided to leave Earth and to return to their home. He saw it in Brim's eyes when she whispered Stump's name and looked away from him. She had fallen in love with another mortal, but she was scared that she might never see him again, or might lose him. Luminite sighed and got up from where he sat. He looked up towards the skies and thought..._

_..._

The day began to get cold and the sky became a beautiful deep red with dabs of yellow and mixtures of purples and oranges. Everyone helped pick up chairs and tables to take back to the houses. Roon finally gave in and let the bats and prairie dogs take the food from the tables. Balthazar smiled and nodded his head in thanks and then turned his head to me. "I'm happy for me and my family to have come to be at yer weddin', I hope you two have the best," he said. With that, he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hug, then shook hands with Kinski and left with his family.

Kinski and I hugged Kaliah and her family, and said goodbye. "Bye, Bunny!" said Anera. Kin gave her a look. "Kinski," he said. Kinski didnt seem to understand what the two were saying, but just hugged them and said goodbye to them. After the goodbyes, Balthazar climbed up onto Kaliah, and took off. Soltus, Anera, and Kin flew after them, as well as the other prairie dogs on their bats. The townspeople waved goodbye and began cleaning up the rest of the wedding. With that, everyone started to head back inside.

"Congratulations, you two," a couple townspeople would say. Kinski grinned and nodded his head in silent thanks. The sunset's colors began to grow darker and darker. Kinski and I were the last to start heading back to town. I picked up a chair and began to head to town, but Kinski took the chair from me. He grinned. I smirked and attempted to grab the chair from him. Kinski moved away and snickered.

"Kinski, come on," I said as I tried getting the chair again. Kinski ignored me and continued to keep the chair from me. When I reached my wing out again, he grabbed my wing with his free hand. My eyes widened in surprise. Kinski stopped moving. He placed the chair down, then grabbed both of my wings. I stopped struggling to look up at him. Kinski smiled in the darkness, then he leaned down, closed his eyes, and kissed me on the lips. I closed my eyes and kissed him back.

Kinski moved his hands up to the sides of my face and his fingers snaked into my hair. We both pulled away and stared up at each other. Kinski grinned in the darkness. "I love you," he said. I smiled. "I love you too," I said. The sunset disappeared and the stars came out. Kinski turned his head upward to them and smiled. "Le's stay 'ere fer a vhile, jes?" he asked me. I looked over to the town. The town was lit up with lights, but were beginning to disappear. "Um...I'm not..." my voice faltered when I saw Kinski staring at me with his huge eyes. I couldn't help but laugh. Kinski smirked. "Zey vont care...an' anyvays...ve are married...ve can do vhatever ve vant," he added. I smiled and kissed his cheek, "Ok," I said.

With that, we both sat down on the ground. I laid on my back and stared up at the stars. Kinski slowly laid himself down on his side and rested his head on his hands. We were quiet for a while. I stared up at the stars. In the corner of my eye, I could see that Kinski was straining his neck upward for a second before lowering it back down. I stopped looking up at the stars. I couldn't enjoy them if I knew he couldnt. I remember the times when he would accidently hurt himself because of his deformity. He would always tell me all the things that he wished he could do...but he couldnt...because-

"Banshee?" Kinski asked, interrupting my thoughts. I turned my head to him. "Yes?" I asked.

"Do you vremember...vhen I told ya how I vished I could lay on my back...an' stare up at ze stars?" he asked me. I looked over at him and nodded. "Yes..." I said, now feeling horrible for him to be in an uncomfortale position. Kinski didnt seem bothered by it at all as he laid on his side, gazing at me. Gradually, a smile formed on his face.

"...I no longer care about zat...ze only zing I vish to gaze at...is you," he said. I blinked and felt the tips of my wings burn. He actually accepted having to lay on his side. He smiled at my face. "You are more beautiful zen ze stars above me..." he said. I blushed. With that, I scooted closer to him. Kinski wrapped his arms around me and held me. I moved my head upward and kissed him on the lips. Kinski kissed me back and we rested our heads against each- others...under the stars.

We stayed there till it got too cold for us and we both got up and headed back to our home...

...

The next day...

"Wake up, mommy! Wake up daddy!" screamed Stub and Petunia as they ran into our bedroom and jumped on us. Kinski and I jolted awake and stared down at the two young rodents. Petunia and Stub laughed as they jumped on top of our legs that were under the covers. Kinski moaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. I yawned, just as Petunia stopped jumping and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Morning, mommy!" she said. I blinked again and felt my heart stop. "Wh-Wha?" I asked and rubbed my eye. Kinski blinked his tired eyes and stared at Stub, who also stopped jumping and hugged Kinski. "Mornin' dad!" said Stub. Kinski opened his eyes a little wider, then exchanged glances with me. I was as surprised as him. With that, Stub and Petunia sat down on the bed in front of us and grinned.

"We was hopin' if we could call you that now," said Petunia. Stub nodded. "Yeah! Yer now our step parents…right?" he asked. Kinski and I stared at them, then to each other. Since we got married, and since I chose to become Stub and Petunia's guardian...in ways, we have become their adopted parents...It felt weird to think that.

"Uh...yeah..." I said, looking back to the two Rodent kids. Stub and Petunia laughed happily and hugged us again. With that, they jumped off our bed and ran out of the room, screaming and laughing. Kinski rubbed the side of his disheveled head. His hair stuck out everywhere. He turned his head to me and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"...I dont zink I'll ever git used to zat..." he told me, referring to when Stub and Petunia called him 'daddy'. I couldn't help but smile and nod in agreement. It was weird being called 'mommy' and 'daddy.' I did not feel like a parent at all. I looked at Kinski. Kinski smirked at me as if he could read my mind.

With that, he kissed my cheek. "Good mornin,' dear...how'd ya sleep?" he asked me. I smiled and shrugged. "Ok," I said. He beamed. "Good," he said. With that, he got out of bed and stretched his arms. He wore a pair of dark blue striped pajamas that he got as a wedding present from the townspeople. He still wasn't used to wearing pajamas, but wore them anyway. He stopped stretching and turned to me. "Le's go downstairs," he said. With that, he grabbed my wings and pulled me up out of bed. I wore a light grey sleeveless nightgown.

I tried pulling away, but Kinski wouldn't let me as he pulled me downstairs. "Kinski, wait! we cant o outside in our night wear," I said, but Kinski ignored me as he pulled me down the stairs to the kitchen where Stub and Petunia were. We stopped when we realized Stub and Petunia werent the only ones in the room.

Chorizo, Stump, Luminite and Brim sat or stood in the kitchen, talking. I noticed that they were all back into their normal wear. Brim and Luminite wore their tinted silver armor while Stump and Chorizo wore their normal gunslinger wear. They stopped when they saw us. Chorizo couldn't help but snicker at us in our night wear. "Nice, pajamas, K.," he said to Kinski. Kinski gave Chorizo a look, but didn't say anything.

"Are you guys alvready leavin'?" Kinski asked, somewhat changing the subject. Brim, Luminite and Stump nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Our mind is made up...but we came by to say, adios," said Chorizo. I stared at them, my ears went down in sadness. "I wish you guys could stay," I said. Luminite and Brim exchanged glances. "We'll try and stop by," said Brim. Luminite nodded and smiled a small smile. "I asked our council if Brim and I could take only the Earth missions and they said it was ok," he answered. I blinked in confusion, then looked over at Stump and Brim who were smiling and holding hands.

"We figured out a way for us to see each other," said Brim happily. Kinski and I smiled. "That's fantastic!" I said happily. Stump beamed and nodded. "Yeah, and I'm going to go wherever their next mission is," he said. I beamed at the two. "So you'll be able to see more of our planet and travel to unknown lands," I said. Brim and Stump nodded excitedly. I looked up at Luminite, who was smiling down at them as well. Chorizo patted Stump on the back. "Glad to hear it all worked out, amigo," he said. Stump nodded his head in thanks to the shrew and kissed Brim on the cheek.

...

Kinski and I stood at the entrance and exit of the town in our pajamas amonst the townspeople. Stub and Petunia stood next to us as we watched Brim, Luminite, Stump and Chorizo get ready to leave the town. Stump and Chorizo were given a wagon filled with food, water and other supplies for their trip from the Dirtonians.

They told us that they planned on traveling to a town for Chorizo to stay at, then Stump is going to head out while Brim and Luminite went to go back to their place for their next mission, and meet back with Stump and plan on something after that. The townspeople were actually sad to see the two gunslingers and two Immortals go. They actually grew fond of them in their town and wished for them to come by and visit soon.

"Rango came up and shook hands with all four of them. "It's been an honor to meet you all and help save our town," he said. The four smiled and nodded their heads. "Same here, sheriff," said Luminite. Kinski and I came to the front of the crowd and said our goodbyes to the four. Brim hugged me tightly. "Thank you for everything, Banshee," she told me. I hugged her back. "No...Thank _you_. If you werent here to save Kinski...I dont think he would be standing here with me today," I said. Brim smiled as she turned to look over at Kinski.

Brim came up to Kinski as he stuck his left hand out for her to shake. "Goodb-" he stopped in midsentence when Brim came foreward unexpectedly and wrapped her arms around him. Kinski's eyes widened in shock and he froze as Brim hugged him. "Goodbye, Kinski, I hope you and Banshee have a wonderful life together," she said smiling happily. Kinski couldnt answer since Brim was very strong and was nearly crushing the life out of him. Brim finally loosened her arms around the hunchback jackrabbit. Kinski gasped for air and held his chest. After catching his breath, he rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his feet.

"Heh..._ja_...hope you an' Stump too..." he said in a low voice. Brim looked over at Stump who was tossing a bag of apples up to Chorizo who sat on top of the wagon. Brim smiled at Stump before lookig back to Kinski. "I will," she said excitedly. Kinski waved his had as she walked away, then Luminite came up to him. Luminite smirked and stuck his hand out for Kinski to shake. "Goodbye, Kinski, hope to see you and Banshee around again," he said. Kinski smirked and cautiously shook hands with Luminite; scared that the wolf might crush his hand. Thankfully, he didnt. "Yeah..." Kinski said. Then Luminite stopped shaking hands with Kinski and hugged me.

"I'm glad to have met all of you. You have really taught me a lot about mortals," he said to me. I smiled. Luminite smiled back. Finally, the wagon was packed. Stump and Chorizo moved away from the wagon so they could say their last goodbyes to us. Kinski shook hands with the two short men. "See ya around, Kinski," said Chorizo. Kinski nodded. Then he shook Stump's hand. "I'm glad to have met ya, K. You and Banshee," he said and looked over to me. After that, Stump and Chorio came up and hugged me.

"Take care of Kinski fer us," said Chorizo in a whisper so no one else could hear them. Stump nodded in agreement, "Yeah, take care of him...and live a long and happy life together...you two deserve each other," he added in a low voice. I smiled. With that, the two gunslingers stopped hugging me and started moving over to the wagon.

Brim and Stump were just starting to talk to each other when they noticed Priscilla and Ricochet come up to them. Priscilla and Ricochet both handed them the bouquet of wilting flowers that Brim gave to them when she caught them at the wedding. "We would like you two to get married before us," said Priscilla to the two. Brim and Stump's eyes widened at the two kids. Ricochet beamed. "It's our future wedding present to you," he said. Brim and Stump both accepted the bouquet.

Gradually, Stump and Brim smiled and hugged the kids. "Thank you," said Brim. Priscilla and Ricochet nodded happily. With that, they both took a step back as Stump and Brim climbed up into the wagon. Chorizo whipped the reins and the boar that stood in front of the wagon lurched forward. We all waved goodbye to them as they left. Luminite waved goodye before opening up his white wings and taking off up into the skies, following after the wagon. We all cheered and shouted excitedly as we waved goodbye to our friends. Kinski placed his right arom around my waist as he waved goodbye with his left hand. Stub and Petunia stood in front of us, waving goodbye.

The townspeople watched the wagon till it disappeared over the uneven desert landscape. The morning sun warmed our faces and the townspeople finally dispersed, ready to start off the new day. Kinski, Stub, Petunia and I still stood at the entrance of Dirt. We stopped waving and stared out into the open desert. Tears ran down my face. I already missed them. Kinski leaned down and wiped my tears away.

"Dont vorry...zey vill come an' visit us soon..." he promised me. I looked up at him. He smiled, then leaned down and kissed me. I kissed him back. "Ew!" said Stub and Petunia, then laughed. Kinski and I stopped kissing and smiled down at them. Kinski's smile was filled with mischief as he let go of me and started to chase the two kids. Stub and Petunia screamed and laughed as they ran away from the hunchback jackrabbit. I smiled. Then, I looked out toward the open desert. I stared out one last time, before turning back and following after my husband and kids...

* * *

**Done! *falls backwards out of chair!* Oh my gosh! I am finally done with this Trilogy! yay! Wow! I never thought I would finally finish! :D but I am also sad to actually be saying goodbye to Banshee, Brim, Luminite, and all my other characters :( I'm going to miss them...Well, hope you enjoyed this story and Trilogy, and thank you all for reading my stories and all your support and I hope you all have a nice day :) Thank you again!**

**-Bat13SJx**

**Original Character: (O.C.): Banshee**

**My Other Original Characters: Brim, Blor, Luminite, Ricochet, Petunia, Stub, Mr. and Mrs. Rodent: (Sally and Rick), Kaliah, Soltus, Anera, Kin, Crash, Gerald, Roon, Burton, Jasper, Eartha, Cykis, Teff (soldier), and the nameless soldiers and demons**


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